During the early 1980s, as many as 150,000 people became infected
with HIV each year. by the early 1990s, this rate had dropped to
approximately 40,000 each year, where it remains today.
Advances in Prevention and Treatment |
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- Drastic reductions in mother-to-child HIV transmission
- New drug combinations to treat HIV and delay the onset of AIDS
- Increased community involvement in HIV prevention efforts
- Better understanding of which communities are at high risk for
HIV infection
- Behavioral interventions shown to be effective through
randomized, controlled clinical trials
Well-designed and well-delivered HIV prevention programs have
contributed to safer behaviors and have helped reduce the number of
new infections.
Prevention effectiveness has been proven scientifically. Among those
who have benefited are MSM, IDUs, heterosexual men and women
at high risk, youth at high risk, and children born to HIV-infected
mothers. These results reflect sustained, focused, and collaborative
efforts among CBOs, federal agencies, foundations, prevention
scientists, and state and local health departments.
Overall Decline in AIDS Cases
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AIDS cases have declined dramatically in certain populations and
regions. New AIDS cases in the United States increased rapidly
during the 1980s, peaked in the early 1990s, and then began to
decline dramatically in 1996. The peak in 1993 was associated with
expansion of the AIDS case definition. Subsequent declines are most
likely the result of improved HIV treatment.
Declines in AIDS Cases in Certain Risk Groups
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MSM
It has been estimated that during the mid 1980s, nearly 50% of
MSM in some major urban gay communities in the United States
were infected with HIV. Although MSM continue to account for the
largest number of people for whom a diagnosis of AIDS is made each
year, new AIDS cases in this population declined dramatically before
stabilizing and then increasing slightly.
IDUs
During the 1980s, injection drug use was another major route for
HIV transmission in the United States. After more than a decade
of prevention interventions—drug treatment programs, needle exchange programs, safer injection practices, peer support, street
outreach, and counseling—new AIDS cases in IDUs declined.
Declines in AIDS Cases in Children
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The estimated number of US children with AIDS declined 94%
from 1992 (when the number of cases peaked) through 2003. This
decline reflects the use of antiretroviral therapy to prevent HIV
transmission from mother to child.
Declines in AIDS Cases in Geographic Regions
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In most US regions, new AIDS cases were first observed to decline in
1996. More recently, from 2002 through 2003, the number of AIDS
cases increased in the Northeast, South, and Midwest and decreased
in the West.
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