Author: Mark Mascolini
18 June 2011
HIV prevalence remains high, at 3.2%, in Washington, DC, the Washingtonian reports. The US capital still has the highest HIV rate in the United States, with an epidemic primarily affecting blacks. More than 16,000 people in the District have HIV.
Washington has an HIV prevalence equivalent to that of Côte d'Ivoire or Congo, according to 2009 estimates from UNAIDS.
The city’s health department reported 755 newly diagnosed HIV cases in 2009, a decline for the second year in a row. But officials cautioned that this trend may reflect new methods for tracking and logging HIV infections rather than an actual drop.
HIV infects 4.7% of blacks in Washington, 2.2% of Hispanics, and 1.5% of whites. In gender subgroups, HIV prevalence is highest among black men, at 7.1%. Men accounted for two thirds of new HIV diagnoses between 2005 and 2009.
The city reports 333 cases of HIV infection in children under 13 years old, and 317 of those children (95.2%) are black. HIV infection attributed to injection drug use dropped from 27.7% in 2005 to 8.3% in 2009.
Source: Emily Leaman. Report finds 16,000 DC residents living with HIV/AIDS. Washingtonian. 16 June 2011.
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