USA Winning The War On New HIV Infections But Falling Behind In Funding AIDS Prevention

Twenty four years ago, the AIDS epidemic peaked in the U.S. as 130,400 people contracted the HIV virus that causes this devastating illness.

Back then, before most Americans knew about AIDS, before antiretroviral treatments were available, 44 of every 100 HIV-positive people conveyed the virus to someone else.

Today, only 5 of every 100 people with HIV infect others, according to data released this week by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Credit goes to prevention programs that promote safe sex and needle use and have helped change behavior, experts say. But inflation-adjusted funding for HIV/AIDS prevention has actually declined recently and advocates worry that gains in combating this disease could be undermined.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, only 4 percent of the nation's $23 billion spending on AIDS goes to U.S. HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. The remainder goes to research, treatment and overseas programs.

In a statement, Richard Wolitski, acting director of the CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention sounded a note of caution.

"Despite this success, we can't forget that new HIV infections are increasing among gay and bisexual men and that African Americans and Hispanics continue to experience disproportionate and unacceptable high rates of HIV and AIDS," said Wolitski, co-author of the research letter published this week in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

"The fight against HIV is far from over."

Indeed, about 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS, compounding the risk of transmission. And 55,000 people still become newly infected with the virus annually.

The new research letter provides a reminder of the human toll of HIV infections. It shows that 540,432 Americans died of AIDS between 1978 and 2006, the latest year for which data is available. Thirty years ago, one person was recorded as perishing from the disease; two years ago, it claimed the lives of almost 14,000 Americans. Courtesy Judith Graham and the Chicago Tribune.