HIV Infection Rates Are Rising

AIDS experts say HIV infection rates are rising among U.S. youth, particularly minorities and gay and bisexual men. ''About half of all new U.S. HIV infections occur in people under 25, and 56% of those are among African-Americans. ''Young African-American women are seven times more likely than white women and eight times as likely as young Latina women to be HIV-positive. ''About one quarter of all U.S. sexually transmitted disease cases each year are reported among teenagers. ''By 2003 approximately 40,000 young Americans had been diagnosed with AIDS; more than 10,000 have died. ''The proportion of people between 13 and 24 with an AIDS diagnosis is increasing annually'from 3.9% of U.S. AIDS diagnoses in 1999 to 4.7% in 2003. ''A seven-city survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2003 has shown that 14% of African-American and 7% of Hispanic men who have sex with men ages 15-22 were infected with HIV.