National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day — October 15, 2018
Weekly / October 12, 2018 / 67(40);1109
National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (https://www.cdc.gov/Features/LatinoAIDSAwareness), October 15, is observed each year to focus on the continuing and disproportionate impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) on Hispanics/Latinos in the United States. The prevalence of diagnosed HIV infection among Hispanics/Latinos is approximately twice that among non-Hispanic whites (1). The percentage of persons with diagnosed infection who are virally suppressed (<200 copies of HIV RNA per mL of blood) is lower among Hispanics/Latinos than among non-Hispanic whites (2).
An analysis of clinical outcomes among Hispanic/Latino participants in CDC’s Medical Monitoring Project (2013 and 2014 cycles) found that a significantly higher percentage of women (78%), compared with men (54%), were living in poverty (3). However, women and men were equally likely to have received prescriptions for antiretroviral therapy (95% versus 96%) and to have durable viral suppression (68% versus 73%) (3).
National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day is an opportunity to encourage increased HIV prevention activities among Hispanics/Latinos. CDC supports testing; linkage to, and engagement in, care and treatment; and other efforts to reduce the risk for acquiring or transmitting HIV infection among Hispanics/Latinos. Additional information is available at https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/hispaniclatinos/index.html.
References
- CDC. HIV surveillance report, 2016; vol. 28. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/library/reports/hiv-surveillance.html
- CDC. HIV surveillance supplemental report, 2018; vol. 23, no. 4. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/library/reports/hiv-surveillance.html
- Luna-Gierke R, Shouse R, Luo Q, Frazier E, Chen G, Beer G. Differences in characteristics and clinical outcomes among Hispanic/Latino men and women receiving HIV medical care—United States, 2013–2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:1109–14.
Suggested citation for this article: National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day — October 15, 2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:1109. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6740a1external icon.
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