AIDS Walk Philly: Fast Facts

Nearly 19,500 City of Philadelphia residents are living with HIV disease, while 30,000 individuals in the Greater Philadelphia region are living with the disease.
In the City of Philadelphia, 480 new cases were reported in 2016; over half of which were among gay and bisexual men (Philadelphia Department of Public Health, AIDS Activities Coordinating Office Surveillance Report).
86% of recently diagnosed AIDS cases in the Philadelphia region are among minorities including African Americans (66%) and Latinos (20%) (Philadelphia Department of Public Health, AACO Surveillance Report).
Among persons newly diagnosed with HIV disease in 2017, 86.3% were linked to HIV medical care within 1 month of their diagnosis. However, under half (46.1%) of all people living with HIV in Philadelphia were retained in HIV medical care in 2017 (Philadelphia Department of Public Health, AACO Surveillance Report).
The significant declines in recent HIV infections are due, in part, to decreases in new infections among heterosexuals and people who inject drugs (Philadelphia Department of Public Health, AACO Surveillance Report).

Approximately 1.1 million people are believed to be living with HIV disease in the US today (Centers for Disease Control).
An estimated nearly 1 out of 7 people living with HIV disease are unaware of their infection (CDC).
In 2015, there were 38,500 new infections in the US (CDC).
More than 256,500 women are living with HIV in the US (CDC).
People in their 20s have the highest number of new HIV infections (37% of new cases) (CDC).
Over 500,000 people have died due to AIDS in the US (CDC).
62% of people living with HIV disease in the US are currently receiving care, and approximately 49% have suppressed their virus through treatment. (CDC).
HIV prevention programs are estimated to have deterred over $130 billion in direct medical costs (CDC).
Individuals aged 13-24 accounted for 26.3% of all newly diagnosed HIV infections in 2017 (Philadelphia Department of Public Health, AACO Surveillance Report).

By risk group, men who have sex with men continue to face the greatest burden of HIV (CDC).
At current rates, an estimated 1 in 6 men who have sex with men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime, nearly 80 times more likely than heterosexual men (CDC).
In 2014, gay and bisexual men accounted for an estimated 67% of new HIV diagnoses with men of color and young men most affected (CDC).

African Americans remain the most affected racial or ethnic group. African Americans account for 44% of HIV diagnoses, though they comprise only 12% of the US population (CDC).
Latinos account for almost 25% of all new infections in the US, despite representing about 18% of the total population (CDC).
On its current course, it is projected that 1 in 2 black men who have sex with men, and 1 in 4 Latino men who have sex with men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime, compared to 1 in 11 white men who have sex with men (CDC).
Of new HIV diagnoses among youth ages 13-24, 59% were African Americans, 23% Latino, and 18% white (CDC).
The rate of new HIV diagnoses per among African American adults/adolescents was 8 times that of whites and more than twice that of Latinos. The rate for African American men was the highest of any group, more than twice that of Latino men, the second highest group. African American women had the highest rate among women. (CDC)
African American and Latino women represent less than one-fourth of all US women, yet they account for 80% of new HIV diagnoses of women in this country (CDC).

While the HIV epidemic has not had a broad impact on the general US population, it has greatly affected the economically disadvantaged in many urban areas – the lower the socio-economic status, the greater the HIV prevalence rate (CDC).
A 2.1% HIV prevalence was found in urban poverty areas in the US, exceeding the 1% that defines a generalized HIV epidemic. A 2.1% HIV prevalence rate is similar to rates found in several low-income countries that have generalized HIV epidemics including Ethiopia, Angola, and Haiti (CDC).
Unlike overall HIV prevalence rates in the US, HIV prevalence rates in urban poverty areas do not differ significantly by race or ethnicity (CDC).

Nationally, 58% of people are uneasy with having food prepared by someone who is HIV-positive (Kaiser Family Foundation).
38% of Americans mistakenly believe HIV can be transmitted by sharing a drinking glass (KFF).
26% of Americans are uncomfortable with the idea of having their child in a classroom with an HIV-positive teacher (KFF, 2012).
51% of the US population is uncomfortable with having an HIV-positive roommate (KFF).
25% of HIV-positive Americans said they knew one or more people who did not get tested for fear of criminal prosecution (National HIV Criminalization Survey, 2012).

A combination of two HIV medicines (tenofovir and emtricitabine), sold under the name Truvada®, is approved for daily use as PrEP to help prevent an HIV-negative person from getting HIV from a sexual or injection-drug-using partner who is positive. Studies have shown that PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV if it is used as prescribed.
Daily PrEP use can lower the risk of getting HIV from sex by more than 90% and from injection drug use by more than 70% (CDC).
The CDC believes 415,000 people in the US to be at high risk for HIV and could benefit from being on PrEP (CDC).
According to the latest results from a survey of retail pharmacies by Gilead Sciences, more than 79,000 people in the US have started Truvada® for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
Latest estimates suggest that too few people in the U.S. are taking PrEP due to not being aware that is an option for prevention. In fact, 34% of health care providers reported not having heard of PrEP. (CDC)

People living with HIV who take antiretroviral therapy (ART) daily as prescribed and achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner. (CDC) (September, 2017)
U=U offers freedom and hope. For many people living with HIV and their partners, U=U opens up social, sexual, and reproductive choices they never thought would be possible. It is an unprecedented opportunity to transform the lives of people with HIV and the field:
- Reduces the shame and fear of sexual transmission and opens up possibilities for conceiving children without alternative means of insemination.
- Dismantles HIV stigma on the community, clinical, and personal level.
- Encourages people living with HIV to start and stay on treatment to keep them and their partners healthy.
- Reinforces the need for universal access to diagnostics, treatment, and care to save lives and bring us closer to ending the epidemic.

HIV/AIDS Facts