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- There is still no cure for AIDS. However, biomedical breakthroughs (in early detection of HIV infection, improved screening technologies, advances in antiretroviral and combination drug therapies during the 1990's, as well as prophylactic medications against opportunistic infections, etc.), coupled with vigilant grassroots information campaign (especially from the gay community), contributed to the dramatic decrease in new cases of AIDS after the peak rate in 1993 (Fig. 1, yellow triangle); and, dramatic decrease in AIDS deaths after 1995 (Fig. 1, blue diamond).
- If HIV infection is diagnosed early, current biomedical therapies (e.g., HAART) significantly delay the progression to AIDS status. Moreover, people living with AIDS (PLWA) can now live longer with a "manageable disease" (see Fig. 2) -- reflected as an increase in the total population of PLWA (see Fig. 1, closed circle) from lower AIDS death rates after 1995 (Fig. 1, blue diamond).
- Deaths due AIDS-related illnesses and other opportunistic infections declined sharply after 1993 and 1995, respectively (see figure above, also Deaths due to HIV Infection).
- The aforementioned dramatic decreases in new AIDS cases and deaths due to AIDS-related illnesses and other opportunistic infections (Fig. 1) were most evident among new births and children, men who have sex with men (MSM), especially among "White" people, and to a certain extent, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders.
- There was a similar dramatic decrease in AIDS and AIDS and AIDS-related deaths among the 25-44 year old -- the age group most affected by AIDS. At the height of the epidemic, AIDS was the leading cause of death in 1992 through 1995 among those in the 25-44 year old age group. In the 25-44 year old age group, AIDS as a cause of death fell to fourth place in 1997.
Cumulative Proportion of AIDS Patients Surviving*, by Months after Diagnosis of the First AIDS-Defining Opportunistic Illness, for Different Years of Diagnosis of the Opportunistic Illness |
Grassroots campaign to promote prevention through "safer sex" practices, since the early stages of the epidemic, played a crucial role in the dramatic decrease in HIV infection.
Unfortunately, perhaps because of all the aforementioned successes, there are some alarming trends:
- recent studies indicate that younger people are reverting to unsafe sex practices and are not being screened properly. As a result, many of those infected are not aware of their HIV status.
- AIDS disproportionally affects African-Americans who account for more than 50% of new cases since 1997. This is particularly disturbing because African-Americans comprise only about 12% of the total US population.
- While the number of cases is still low compared with men who have sex with men (MSM), there is an alarming increase rate of HIV infection through heterosexual transmission, disproportionately affecting women and more specifically African-American women.
These recent developments are consistent with the halt in the rate of decrease of AIDS deaths than begun to level off since 1997. AIDS is still among the top 5 causes of death among 25-44 yo. In fact, AIDS remains the leading cause of death among African-Americans.
Visit specific sections (see navigation links above or below) for additional literature and resources, as well as more detailed discussions of individual topics.
AIDS Trends in the United States
- Incidence of perinatally acquired AIDS 1985 - 2000 (US)
- Incidence and deaths among adults and adolescents with AIDS, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- Incidence and deaths among persons with AIDS attributed to heterosexual contact, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- Incidence and deaths among injection drug users with AIDS, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- AIDS incidence and deaths among men who have sex with men and inject drugs, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- AIDS incidence and deaths among men who have sex with men, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- AIDS incidence and deaths among men who have sex with men, by race, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- Incidence of AIDS among adults and adolescents by race/ethnicity, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- Number of deaths among adults and adolescents with AIDS, by race/ethnicity, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- Incidence among women with AIDS attributed to heterosexual contact, by race/ethnicity, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- Number of deaths among women with AIDS attributed to heterosexual contact, by race/ethnicity, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- AIDS Prevalence among adults and adolescents by exposure category, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- Prevalence of AIDS among male adults and adolescents, by exposure category, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- Prevalence among female adults and adolescents, by exposure category, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- Incidence of AIDS among adults and adolescents by race/ethnicity, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- Number of deaths among adults and adolescents with AIDS, by race/ethnicity, 1985 - 2001 (US)
- Incidence, prevalence and deaths among persons with AIDS, 1985 - 2001 (US)
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Notes and Footnotes:
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Untitled Use the icons (e.g., "AIDS Primer", "AIDS in America", etc.) as well as the underlined items to jump from one section to another. Also, most of the figures and illustrations shown here are linked to their original sources. -
Untitled Unless otherwise specified, all the statistical AIDS data and resulting figures presented for the United States were from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC is the major US federal agency responsible for the surveillance and dissemination of information on HIV and AIDS in the United States. The various information databases created by CDC are integrated, along with other AIDS databases from other sources, in the A-Z navigation index of AIDS Primer. -
Untitled Click on Literature Sources to access the source of the information database, specified as superscript after each topic link.