On World AIDS Day, public health officials warn fight against HIV/AIDS is “far from over”

Today is World AIDS Day and public health officials throughout the world are using the occasion to announce new measures for combating HIV/AIDS, to urge the public not to be complacent in the battle against the disease and to highlight the progress that has been made in fighting the epidemic.

Kevin Fenton, MD, PhD, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, released a statement that reminded Americans of the toll HIV/AIDS has taken.

"On this World AIDS Day, we are reminded that the fight against HIV is far from over, in the United States and around the world," Fenton said. "Every nine and a half minutes, someone in the United States is newly infected with HIV. One in five of the more than 1 million people living with HIV in this country are unaware of their infections and may be unknowingly transmitting the virus to others."

Fenton, also an Infectious Disease News editorial board member, noted that a disproportionately high number of patients with HIV/AIDS in the United States are members of minority groups. "The impact of HIV in the United States continues to be most severe among some of our most vulnerable populations," he said. "By risk group, men who have sex with men account for the majority of new infections and of people living with HIV. By race/ethnicity, African-Americans and Latinos bear the heaviest burden of disease. And although rates among Asians/Pacific Islanders and American Indians/Alaska Natives are lower, the burden of HIV on these communities remains significant. A range of social, cultural, and economic factors - including stigma, racism, poverty and limited access to health care - contribute to the disproportionate impact of HIV on each of these groups. And since young people in each of these populations continue to become infected with HIV at high rates, we must continue to reach each new generation with information and education on how to prevent HIV from impacting their lives."

Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH, director of the division of HIV/AIDS prevention at the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, echoed Fenton's sentiments and said increasing the number of health care providers should be made a priority in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

"We must acknowledge and work to expand the critical role of health care providers in stemming the toll of HIV/AIDS in the United States," Mermin said. "In the early days of HIV in this country, health care providers were on the front lines in identifying and confronting an unknown and emerging epidemic. They played a key role in research to identify effective treatments and have helped extend the length and quality of life of countless Americans living with HIV and AIDS. And although the epidemic has changed over time, the role of health care providers remains just as important today, not only for treating those with HIV, but also for helping to stop new infections."