Health Conditions

Who has it?

AIDS can strike individuals in all ethnic groups, ages, sexes, and sexual orientations. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as of April, 2007, over 40 million people worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS, with approximately 66% (26.6 million) of these people live in Sub-Saharan Africa and 50% being of the male gender. In the year 2006, 4.3 million individuals were diagnosed with HIV, which means that roughly 14,000 individuals were diagnosed each day. Approximately 95% of those new infections are occurring in developing countries such as: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam. Also, in the year 2006, there was an estimated 2.9 million deaths associated with HIV/AIDS.

In the United States, it is estimated that 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 residents are living with HIV/AIDS ? 25% of whom are unaware that they are infected. Approximately 40,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, with 70% being males and 50% being individuals under the age of 25. According to the CDC, in the year 2005, there was an increase in the number of HIV/AIDS cases, with approximately 74% of those cases occurring in adolescent and adult men. The CDC also showed that there was a 4% drop in AIDS-related deaths from 2001-2005. In the United States, the aggressive use of antiviral drugs has lengthened the time needed for HIV to progress to full blown AIDS. While the number of those becoming infected with HIV is increasing, the number of AIDS cases is decreasing due to the result of such great advancements in the available treatment options.