Blacks Continue to Bear a Disproportionate Burden of HIV/AIDS in the U.S.

In 2005, HIV/AIDS diagnoses were 21 times more common among black women than white women — and 7 times more common among black men than white men.

Throughout the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the CDC has documented dramatic racial and ethnic disparities in the U.S. The most recent data, collected from 33 states from 2001 through 2005, show that black men and women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of disease.

Of the estimated 184,991 HIV infections diagnosed from 2001 through 2005, half were in blacks, even though blacks accounted for only 13% of the population surveyed. By comparison, 72% of the population was white, but whites accounted for only 29% of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. The primary mode of HIV infection among black men was sexual contact with other men; for black women, it was high-risk heterosexual contact. In 2005, the annual rate of HIV/AIDS diagnosis was 6.9 times higher amon…

Reviewing Author

Salim S. Abdool Karim, MD, PhD

Blacks Continue to Bear a Disproportionate Burden of HIV/AIDS in the U.S.

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