Young Women And Adolescent Girls
HIV prevalence among young women is nearly four times greater than that of young men.14 In 2018, 540,000 young women were living with HIV, compared to 180,000 young men.15
In the same year, 69,000 young women became HIV-positive, compared to 28,000 young men, meaning they are over three times more likely to acquire HIV than their male counterparts. The difference is particularly acute among 10 to 19-year-olds, with 33,000 adolescent girls becoming HIV-positive in 2018, compared to 4,200 adolescent boys.16
Intergenerational relationships between older men, a group with high HIV prevalence, and young women are understood to be driving a cycle of infections. The National Strategic HIV Plan has centred its approach to HIV prevention around interrupting this cycle.1718
CASE STUDY: Sugar daddies
Lebogang Motsumi was 27 when she acquired HIV from a sugar daddy a significantly older man who showered her with gifts, which she believed she needed to fit in with her friends and feel more accepting of herself. She was reluctant to use a condom in case she was perceived as promiscuous by men and felt she was not in control of the situation when she was with her sexual partners.
Now a mother, Motsumi says she wishes she had received more information at home and at school about risky sexual behaviour, and is using her experience to advocate non-judgemental, face-to-face conversations with young people about relationships with older men.19
Discrimination And Homophobia As Causes Of Hiv
These structural conditions, which take the form of discrimination and homophobia , are further compounded by racism and economic disparities for gay and bisexual men of color. Exposure to and experiences of homophobia have been implicated in substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, negative body image, suicide attempts, increased stress and limited social support among gay and bisexual men . Moreover, experiences with homophobia have been shown to interfere with the ability of gay and bisexual men to establish and maintain longterm same-sex relationships, which protect against HIV acquisition . The experiences of homophobia may exert their effects on sexual risk taking indirectly by exacerbating mental health burden .
Recently our research team at the Center for Health Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies at New York University documented the risks and resiliencies of young gay and bisexual men ages 1329 in a study named Project Desire. Using Gilligans Listening Guide for Psychological Inquiry , we recorded these young mens fears, hopes, and dreams in relation to emerging adulthood, dating, sex and HIV. Some spoke very clearly about experiences of homophobia in their lives . An 18-year-old Latino who was HIV-negative expressed how he experienced homophobia from his own sister:
Similarly, a 25-year-old Black, HIV-positive man described his familys reaction to his coming out as follows:
How Mental Health Issues Can Worsen Hiv Among Bisexual People
Bisexual people often also have worse mental health outcomes, often as a result of biphobia and bisexual erasure. For instance, many bisexual people deal with being told that their sexuality is either nonexistent or invalid. This includes being told that bisexuals are greedy, confused, or sexually promiscuous.
Bisexual people have a number of measurably worse mental health outcomes than their straight and gay counterpartseach of which can lead to increased HIV risk and poorer health while living with HIV.
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Stage : Asymptomatic Stage
Also known as the clinical latency stage, this stage of HIV is known for its lack of symptoms.
During this stage, the virus exists and is multiplying in the body and is beginning to weaken the immune system. But it isnt actively causing symptoms.
A person with HIV at this stage may feel and look totally fine. But they can still easily transmit the virus to others.
Hiv Among Indigenous People
How many Indigenous people are living with HIV in Canada ?
According to national HIV estimates, 6,180 Indigenous people were living with HIV in Canada in 2018. This represents 10.0% of all people with HIV in Canada.
How many new infections are there in Indigenous people in Canada each year?
According to national HIV estimates, 314 new HIV infections in Canada were in Indigenous people in 2018. This represents 14.0% of all new infections. In comparison, Indigenous people made up only 4.9% of the total Canadian population in 2016, making Indigenous people over-represented in new HIV infections in Canada.
How is Canada doing at reaching the global targets of 90-90-90 for Indigenous people who inject drugs?
According to a surveillance study conducted with Indigenous people who inject drugs in Canada between 2017 and 2019:
- 78.2% of Indigenous PWID with HIV were aware of their status in 20172019
- 83.7% of Indigenous PWID diagnosed with HIV were on treatment in 20172019
- 64.4% of Indigenous PWID on HIV treatment reported an undetectable viral load in 20172019
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In 5 Gay/bi Men Have Hiv Nearly Half Dont Know
CDC Study Shows Gay/Bisexual African-Americans, Young Adults Least Aware of HIV Status
Black gay/bi men and under-30 gay/bi adults are least likely to know of their HIV infections.
The findings show that HIV infection rates remain strikingly high among gay and bisexual men, says Kevin Fenton, MD, PhD, director of the CDCs center for HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, STD, and TB prevention.
The number of new HIV infections each year is increasing among men who have sex with men , while remaining stable or decreasing in other groups, Fenton said in a statement. Currently, MSM account for nearly half of the more than 1 million people living with HIV in the United States.
To get these numbers, CDC teams visited bars, dance clubs, and other venues frequented by gay and bisexual men in the 21 cities with the highest number of AIDS cases. They interviewed 8,153 self-identified gay and bisexual men who agreed to undergo HIV testing.
The findings:
- 19% of the men tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
- 28% of black, 18% of Hispanic, and 16% of white men tested positive for HIV.
- 44% of the men who tested positive for HIV had been unaware of their infection.
- 59% of black, 46% of Hispanic, and 26% of white men who tested positive for HIV were unaware of their infection.
- 63% of the HIV-positive men age 18-29 were unaware of their infection.
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New Hiv Diagnoses In The Us And Dependent Areas By Transmission Category 2019
NOTE: Does not include other and perinatal transmission categories.
Source: CDC. Diagnoses of HIV infection in the United States and dependent areas, 2019. HIV Surveillance Report 2021 32.
If we look at HIV diagnoses by race and ethnicity, we see that Black/African American people are most affected by HIV. In 2019, Black/African American people accounted for 42% of all new HIV diagnoses. Additionally, Hispanic/Latino people are also strongly affected. They accounted for 29% of all new HIV diagnoses.
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Hiv Resources For Gay Black Men
The CDC has designed a number of initiatives to address these shortcomings, including the Testing Makes Us Stronger social marketing campaign aimed at gay black men aged 18 to 44.
Spearheading activism and awareness in the gay black community is the CDC-supported Black Mens Xchange , which operates 11 chapters in the U.S., and the Center for Black Equity, which works with local pride organizations.
To find programs and services within your community or state, contact your regional 24-hour AIDS hotline. For free, confidential HIV testing, contact 800-CDC-INFO for referrals, or use the online AIDSVu HIV testing site locator organized by the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.
Hiv Deaths In The United States
In the United States, no less than 675,000 Americans have died since the first cases were diagnosed back in 1981. In 2018, approximately 1.2 million Americans were estimated to be living with the disease. From 2014 to 2018, HIV diagnoses decreased by about 7%, but that number varied depending on the region.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , there were 15,820 deaths in people with HIV in the United States in 2018.Thats a significant decrease from the over 50,000 deaths reported at the height of the epidemic in 1995.
Despite the advances, there remains a clear disparity in the populations affected by the disease in the United State. Among some the key risk factors affecting mortality rates are geography, sexuality, and race.
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Hiv And Men Who Have Sex With Men
Since reports of the human immunodeficiency virus began to emerge in the United States in the 1980s, the HIV epidemic has frequently been linked to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men by epidemiologists and medical professionals. The first official report on the virus was published by the Center for Disease Control on June 5, 1981 and detailed the cases of five young gay men who were hospitalized with serious infections. A month later, The New York Times reported that 41 homosexuals had been diagnosed with Kaposis Sarcoma, and eight had died less than 24 months after the diagnosis was made. By 1982, the condition was referred to in the medical community as Gay-related immune deficiency , gay cancer, and gay compromise syndrome. It was not until July 1982 that the term Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome was suggested to replace GRID, and even then it was not until September that the CDC first used the AIDS acronym in an official report.
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Massive Misconceptions About Hiv Almost Stopped Sue Hunter From Getting Tested
Sue Hunter is one of the many straight women who are living with HIV in the UK today. She was diagnosed 15 years ago after she entered into a new relationship following a divorce. Looking back, she says she almost didnt get tested because she had massive misconceptions about HIV.
Id come out of a marriage, I started again, I was only 45 and I met a new partner. We had a lovely relationship for about a year but I decided I wanted to go my own way after the divorce and all that, so we separated but we stayed friends, Sue tells PinkNews.
Shortly after they separated, Sues former partner started developing persistent chest infections. He eventually ended up being hospitalised for pneumonia, which led to him testing positive for HIV.
Once he mentioned those three letters, I was like: Why is he talking to me about something like that? Sue says. She had always thought that, as a straight woman, she wasnt at risk of contracting HIV.
He walked out the door and one of the last things he said to me was: Please go for a HIV test. Obviously I did and I got my result, and it was positive.
The first thing I thought was: HIV doesnt happen to women for a start, and certainly not to heterosexual women. I contacted the Terrence Higgins Trust and started to inform myself, and I learned that it does happen to women and it does happen to heterosexuals.
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Were More Closely Connected Than You Might Think
The reality is that there are fewer gay and bi guys than there are straight men and women. So when youre meeting a guy for casual sex, the pool of people you have to choose from is smaller. This makes gay and bi guys much more closely connected, sexually, than the rest of the population. It also allows HIV and other STIs to spread quickly among us.
Preventing The Transmission Of Hiv
Its important for people especially those who have a high risk of contracting HIV to be tested frequently. Starting HIV treatment early is important for best outcomes. Approximately 44 percent of people ages 18 to 64 in the United States have reported receiving an HIV test. HIV education is mandatory in 34 states and in Washington, D.C.
From a public health perspective, preventing transmission of HIV is as important as treating those who have it. There has been remarkable progress in that regard. For example, modern-day antiretroviral therapy can reduce the chances of an HIV-positive person transmitting the virus by 100 percent, if the therapy is taken consistently to reduce virus to an undetectable level in the blood.
There has been a sharp decline in transmission rates in the United States since the mid-1980s. While men who have sex with men represent only 4 percent of the male population in this country, they comprise around 70 percent of those who newly contracted HIV.
Condom use remains an inexpensive, cost-effective first line of defense against HIV. A pill known as Truvada, or pre-exposure prophylaxis , also offers protection. A person without HIV can protect themselves from contracting the virus by taking this once-a-day pill. When taken properly, PrEP can reduce the risk of transmission by more than
Of that amount, $6.6 billion is for aid abroad. This expenditure represents less than 1 percent of the federal budget.
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People With Diagnosed Hiv In The Us And Dependent Areas By Region Of Residence 2019*
*Rates per 100,000 people.
a American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Republic of Palau, and the US Virgin Islands.b In the 50 states and the District of Columbia.c The term male-to-male sexual contact is used in CDC surveillance systems. It indicates a behavior that transmits HIV infection, not how individuals self-identify in terms of their sexuality.d Includes infections attributed to male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use .
Does Hiv Affect Gay And Bisexual Men
In the United States, gay and bisexual men are the population most affected by HIV. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , in 2019, adult and adolescent gay and bisexual men accounted for 69% of the new HIV diagnoses in the United States and dependent areas.
In the United States, gay and bisexual men are the populationmost affected by HIV.
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Social Determinants Of Health 2018*
Percent of Population with a High School Education, 2018 87.7%
Income Inequality , 2018 0.482
Percent of Population Living in Poverty, 2018 13.1%
Median Household Income, 2018 $61,937
Percent of Population Lacking Health Insurance, 2018 10.4%
Percent of Population Unemployed, 2018 3.9%
Percent of Population Living with Food Insecurity, 2016-2018 11.1%
Percent of Population Living in Unstable Housing, 2018 14.5%
National Gay Mens Hiv/aids Awareness Day 2021
In 2019, there were 587,355 Gay and Bisexual Men living with HIV, representing over half of all people living with HIV in the U.S.
Gay and Bisexual Men face multiple HIV prevention challenges, such as racism, discrimination, homophobia, and stigma, that put them at higher risk for HIV and prevent them from accessing quality health care that allows them to be aware of their status and take steps to improve their health. These factors are even more prominent for Gay and Bisexual Men of color. From 2008 to 2019, Black Gay and Bisexual Men and Hispanic/Latino Gay and Bisexual Men experienced a 2% decrease and 18% increase respectively in new HIV diagnoses, compared to a 34% decrease among white Gay and Bisexual Men.
Racial disparities are also visible along the HIV care continuum, a public health model that outlines the stages of care people living with HIV go through from diagnosis to achieving and maintaining viral suppression. In 2019, Black Gay and Bisexual Men and Hispanic Gay and Bisexual Men living with HIV had lower rates of viral suppression, 62% and 67% respectively, compared to white Gay and Bisexual Men living with HIV .
In addition to racial disparities, many Gay and Bisexual Men experience challenges in achieving and maintaining viral suppression due to disproportionate levels of homelessness, stigma, and a lack of mental health and culturally competent care that may prevent them from accessing treatment and necessary medications.
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What The Cdc Report Found
The CDC report analyzed national HIV surveillance data from 2009 to 2013. The aim of the research was to identify disparities in HIV infection rates by region, age, biological sex, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and injecting drug use.
Part of the intent of the research was to identify where resources need to be directed in order to overcome these historical disparities. This not only includes increasing treatment access for at-risk communities but also overcoming barriers to HIV testing .
Of the estimated 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States, around 13% have not been tested and are unaware of their HIV status.
Among the findings of the CDC report:
- The lifetime risk of HIV is one in 68 for males and one in 253 for females, the disparity of which is mainly due to high rates of HIV among MSM.
- By race, the lifetime risk is one in 22 for Black males, one in 51 for Latinx males, and one in 140 for White males.
- As a group, MSM have a one-in-six lifetime risk of HIV. The group with the lowest risk is heterosexual males with a lifetime risk of one in 524.
- White MSM have a one-in-11 lifetime risk of HIV.
- Latinx MSM have a one-in-five lifetime risk of HIV.
- Black MSM have a one-in-two lifetime risk of HIV, by far the highest rate of all risk groups.