The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the United States

General U.S. Statistics

• Approximately 56,300 new HIV infections occurred in the United States in 2006. (CDC, Estimates of
New HIV Infection in the United States, 2008)

• In 2007, an estimated total of 1.2 million people were living with HIV in the U.S. (UNAIDS, 2008
Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic)

• Since the first reports of AIDS in the U.S. in 1981, it is estimated that at least 1.6 million people in
the U.S. have been infected with HIV. (CDC, HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, Volume 16, 2005)

• Approximately one in five of people living with HIV in the U.S. are unaware they are infected. (CDC,
HIV Prevalence Estimates—United States, 2008)

• Individuals who are unaware of their HIV-positive status potentially may account for 54 to 70
percent of all new sexually transmitted HIV infections in the U.S. (UNAIDS, December 2006 AIDS
Epidemic Update)

• From 2002 to 2006, the estimated number of deaths of persons with AIDS in the United States
decreased 17 percent. (CDC, HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2006)

HIV/AIDS and Children: U.S. Statistics

• An estimated 100 to 200 infants in the U.S. are newly infected with HIV annually, nearly all through
mother-to-child transmission. (CDC, Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission and Prevention, 2007)

• In 2006, 566 cases of HIV infection in children were newly reported in the U.S. (CDC, HIV/AIDS
Surveillance Report, 2006)

• In 2006, 86 cases of AIDS in children were newly reported in the U.S. (CDC, HIV/AIDS
Surveillance Report, 2006)

• From 2002 to 2006, the estimated number of AIDS cases in the U.S. decreased 64 percent
among children under 13 years of age. (CDC, HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2006)

• Since the beginning of the epidemic in the U.S., an estimated 8,460 children under the age of 13
diagnosed with AIDS were infected perinatally. (CDC, Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission and
Prevention, 2007)

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

1140 Connecticut Ave NW
Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
T: 202.296.9165
F: 202.296.9185
www.pedaids.org
 HIV/AIDS and Gender, Race, and Ethnicity: U.S. Statistics

• From 2003 to 2006, the estimated number of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases in the U.S.
increased among whites and Asians/Pacific Islanders, remained stable among African-
Americans and Hispanics, and fluctuated among American Indians/Alaska Natives. (CDC,
HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2006)

• At the end of 2006, 46 percent of persons living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. were African-American, 35
percent were white, 18 percent were Hispanic, 1 percent were Asian/Pacific Islander, and less than 1
percent were American Indian/Alaska Native. (CDC, HIV Prevalence Estimates—United States,
2008)

• African-Americans accounted for 45 percent of all new HIV cases diagnosed in the U.S. in 2006.
(CDC, Estimates of New HIV Infection in the United States, 2008)

• From 2003 to 2006, the estimated number of HIV/AIDS cases in the U.S. increased
approximately 5 percent among males and decreased 6 percent among females. (CDC,
HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2006)

• In 2006, males accounted for 75 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases among adults and adolescents in
the U.S. (CDC, HIV Prevalence Estimates—United States, 2008)

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

1140 Connecticut Ave NW
Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
T: 202.296.9165
F: 202.296.9185
www.pedaids.org
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