| |
YEARS |
PROCESS |
WHO PARTICIPATES |
WHAT THE DATA TELL US |
WHY THEY ARE IMPORTANT |
| AIDS Surveillance Data |
1981-present |
CDC receives standardized data from states, the District of Columbia, and US dependent areas. This is called reported data. CDC makes adjustments to the reported data to allow for trend comparisons and to compensate for missing information, reporting delays, or duplications. The resulting data
are the estimated data. |
Reported data: 50 states, District of Columbia, US dependent areas.
Estimated data: 50 states, District of Columbia, US Dependent areas. |
The number of people, as reported to CDC, who were diagnosed, living with, or who died with AIDS in a certain time period. CDC adjusts the reported data and provides the estimated numbers of people who were diagnosed, living or who died with AIDS in a certain time period. |
Knowing how many people are diagnosed with AIDS each year is important to planning and resource allocation and for monitoring trends within the epidemic and discrepancies between groups. For example, a short time between HIV diagnoses and AIDS diagnoses could imply that members of a group may not have the same access to testing or care as members of a group with a longer time between an HIV diagnoses and an AIDS diagnoses. |
| HIV/AIDS Surveillance Data |
1985-present |
In 1985, the diagnostic test for HIV was licensed. Over time, states have implemented HIV surveillance along with their AIDS surveillance.
In 1994, CDC integrated the HIV reporting and AIDS reporting data systems; 25 states were initially included.
CDC receives standardized data from the states, the District of Columbia, and US dependent areas. This is called reported data. |
Reported data: 50 states, District of Columbia, US dependent areas.*
Estimated data: 34 states, 5 US dependent areas.*
* The current surveillance report, which uses 2006 data, has reported cases from 45 states and 5 US dependent areas and estimated data from 33 states and 5 US dependent areas. |
The number of people, as reported to CDC, who were diagnosed or living with HIV/AIDS in a certain time period. CDC adjusts the reported data and provides the estimated numbers of people who were diagnosed or living with HIV/AIDS during a certain time period. |
HIV/AIDS diagnoses have often served as a marker for new HIV infections (incidence). However, a person can be infected with HIV for a long time before receiving a diagnosis. Therefore, HIV diagnoses are best used to monitor the epidemic in younger people, who will not have been infected for very long, as well as to help correlate testing and treatment patterns with estimated HIV/AIDS diagnoses. |
| Prevalence Estimate |
1981-Present |
CDC makes adjustments to the reported data to allow for trend comparisons and to compensate for missing information, reporting delays, or duplications. The resulting are the estimated data. CDC receives standardized data from states and dependent areas. After adjustments, prevalence estimates are derived. Estimated HIV/AIDS prevalence in CDC’s surveillance reports is limited to those states with long-term, name-based HIV reporting. Other publications calculate prevalence estimates for the entire United States. |
AIDS: 50 states, District of Columbia, US dependent areas.
HIV/AIDS: 34 states, US dependent areas.*
*The current surveillance report, which uses 2006 data, has data from 33 states and 5 US dependent areas. |
The number of people living with HIV or AIDS in specific areas, including the entire United States. |
Knowing how many people are living with HIV/AIDS is important for planning purposes, allocations of funds, and monitoring the epidemic. A growing number of people living with HIV/AIDS mean that treatment regimens are enabling more people to live longer after a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. It also means a larger pool of people who can potentially transmit the virus. |
| HIV Incidence Estimate |
2008 |
A laboratory test (STARHS) that can determine recent from long-standing HIV infections is applied to blood samples from newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases in certain states in the HIV/AIDS reporting system. These findings are then extrapolated to the United States. |
22 states |
The number of people newly infected with HIV in a given year |
Knowing how many new infections occur each year is vital to planning and allocation of funds, as well as to evaluating the success of prevention programs. |
