On November 26, 2007, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty announced the first-ever data on HIV in the District of Columbia and updated AIDS statistics last reported five years ago that show striking findings on the severity of the District’s epidemic. The Mayor also announced steps to reduce the number of children born with HIV, increase testing and earlier treatment for people before they get sick, and respond to the disproportionate impact on women and the African-American community.

The major findings of the District of Columbia HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Annual Report are:

• Between 1997 and 2006, almost 70 percent of all AIDS cases progressed from HIV to AIDS in less than 12 months after the initial HIV diagnosis, primarily due to late testing, compared to 39 percent nationally.
• The District accounted for 9 percent of all pediatric AIDS cases in the United States during 2005. Between 2001 and 2006, there were 56 children ages 13 or younger diagnosed with either HIV or AIDS in the District of Columbia.
• Although African-American residents account for 57percent of the District’s population, they account for 81percent of new reports of HIV cases. African-American women constitute 58 percent of the District’s female population, but account for 90 percent of all new female HIV cases.
• Heterosexual contact in the District is the leading mode of HIV transmission at 37 percent of newly reported infections, while nationally men who have sex with men lead new transmissions.
• The District’s rate for newly reported AIDS cases is higher than rates in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Detroit, and Chicago.
• Nearly every ward in the District is impacted, though Wards 1, 5, 6 and 8 consistently had the highest numbers of residents diagnosed with HIV and AIDS.
• The majority of newly reported cases were among residents ages 30 to 49.

You can download copies of the report and fact sheets below or request copies by calling the HIV/AIDS Administration at (202) 671-4900.

• District of Columbia HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Annual Report*
• Mayor’s Press Release on the Report and Actions