Via Reuters AlertNet: U.S. blacks, gay and straight, have biggest struggle with HIV. Excerpt:
According to a report released last week by the Black AIDS Institute, black gay and bisexual men make up one in 500 Americans overall, but account for one in four new HIV infections in the United States.
It found that by the time a black gay man reaches 25, he has a one in four chance of being infected with HIV. By age 40, he has a 60 percent chance of being infected.
Fenton said there is nothing unique about blacks that make them more vulnerable to HIV infection. Once higher infection rates are seen in a community, the chances of new members becoming infected are simply higher.
"What we believe is that the infection is becoming concentrated in these minority groups as a reflection of the social and structural drivers of health inequalities overall," he said.
A CDC study published on Friday in the Lancet medical journal found that black men who have sex with men in the United States are 72 times more likely than the general population to be HIV-positive.
HIV-positive gay and bisexual black men in the United States are 22 percent less likely than other HIV-positive gay and bisexual men to get treatment, the team said. They are also less likely to have health insurance, which is key because HIV drugs lower the amount of virus in the body and can significantly reduce the risk of transmission.
