NHTD Media Summaries

Prevalence of Diagnosed and Undiagnosed HIV Infection — United States, 2008–2012

HIV diagnosis is the essential first step in ensuring those living with HIV can access ongoing care and treatment, as well as other information and tools to help prevent transmission to others. More than one million people are living with HIV in the U.S.; although most of these individuals are aware of their infection, those who are not cannot benefit from life-extending treatment and account for a significant proportion (30 percent) of new HIV transmissions. Reaching these individuals with HIV testing is critical. For this analysis, CDC researchers analyzed data from the National HIV Surveillance System to estimate the prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed HIV for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. In 2012, the number of people living with HIV ranged from 110 (Iowa) to 3,936 (Washington, DC) per 100,000 persons in 42 jurisdictions with stable estimates. The percentage living with diagnosed HIV ranged from 77.4 percent in Louisiana to 90 percent or greater in Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, and New York. These five jurisdictions have already met the National HIV/AIDS Strategy goal of increasing the percentage of people living with HIV who know their serostatus to 90 percent by 2015. These data underscore the continued need for ongoing efforts to increase testing to further reduce undiagnosed HIV infection. The authors also note that because the percentage of persons who are diagnosed varies by geographic area, efforts tailored to each area’s unique needs and situations may be needed.

Identifying New Positives and Linkage to HIV Medical Care — 23 Testing Site Types, United States, 2013

Health care and non-health care settings both play a pivotal role in reaching undiagnosed persons with HIV testing services. CDC recommends routine HIV screening in health care settings for persons aged 13-64 years. However, targeted testing in non-health care settings is also critical to reach populations that continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV (e.g., African Americans, men who have sex with men, and Latinos) and do not routinely seek care. To better understand in what settings HIV testing and diagnosis is taking place, CDC researchers reviewed data from 61 health departments and 151 community based organizations that were funded by CDC to conduct HIV testing. In 2013, a larger percentage of HIV-positive persons were newly diagnosed in STD clinics (0.8 percent), as compared to other health care sites (0.2-0.5 percent). In non-health care sites, HIV counseling and testing sites conducted the largest number of HIV testing events and identified the largest number of new positives (3,860, or 1 percent of those tested). The findings indicate that certain sites yield higher percentages of new positives among persons who were unaware of their HIV infection and highlight the importance of national program monitoring and evaluation efforts to determine which sites are most effectively providing HIV testing, diagnosing new positives, and linking HIV-positive persons to care. The authors note this analysis can be used to inform decisions about program planning and allocation of HIV testing resources.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESexternal icon