World AIDS Day Observed 40 MILLION WITH HIV [Archives:2001/50/Health]

Since the first clinical evidence of AIDS was reported two decades ago, HIV/AIDS has spread to every corner of the world. Still rapidly growing, the epidemic is reversing developmental gains, robbing millions of their lives, widening the gap between rich and poor, and undermining social and economic security.
As of the end of 2001, an estimated 40 million people worldwide 37.2 million adults and 2.7 million children younger than 15 years were living with HIV/AIDS. More than 70 percent of these people (28.1 million) live in Sub-Saharan Africa; another 15 percent (6.1 million) live in South and Southeast Asia.
Worldwide, approximately one in every 100 adults aged 15 to 49 is HIV-infected. In Sub-Saharan Africa, about 8.4 percent of all adults in this age group are HIV-infected. In 16 African countries, the prevalence of HIV infection among adults aged 15 to 49 exceeds 10 percent.
Approximately 48 percent of adults living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are women.
An estimated 5 million new HIV infections occurred worldwide during 2001; that is, about 14,000 infections each day. More than 95 percent of these new infections occurred in developing countries.
In 2001, approximately 6,000 young people aged 15 to 24 became infected with HIV every day that is, about five every minutes.
In 2001 alone, HIV/AIDS-associated illnesses caused the deaths of approximately 3 million people worldwide, including an estimated 580,000 children younger than 15 years.
Worldwide, more than 80 percent of all adult HIV infections have resulted from heterosexual intercourse.
HIV/AIDS in the United States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 800,000 to 900,000 U.S. residents are living with HIV infection, one-third of whom are unaware of their infection.
Approximately 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year in the United States, about 70 percent among men and 30 percent among women. Of these newly infected people, half are younger than 25 years of age.
Of new infections among men in the United States, CDC estimates that approximately 60 percent of men were infected through homosexual sex, 25 percent through injection drug use, and 15 percent through heterosexual sex. Of newly infected men, approximately 50 percent are black, 30 percent are white, 20 percent are Hispanic, and a small percentage are members of other racial/ethnic groups.
Of new infections among women in the United States, CDC estimates that approximately 75 percent of women were infected through heterosexual sex and 25 percent through injection drug use. Of newly infected women, approximately 64 percent are black, 18 percent are white, 18 percent are Hispanic, and a small percentage are members of other racial/ethnic groups.
In the United States, 774,467 cases of AIDS had been reported to the CDC through December 31, 2000.
The estimated number of new adult/adolescent AIDS cases diagnosed in the United States was 49,691 in 1997, 42,955 in 1998, and 41,680 in 1999.
In 2000, 41,960 new cases of AIDS in adults/adolescents were reported in the United States. In the same year, 196 new pediatric.



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