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National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day — February 7, 2018
Weekly / February 2, 2018 / 67(4);113
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is observed each year on February 7 to emphasize the continuing disproportionate impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) on the U.S. black/African American (black) population.
In 2014, non-Hispanic blacks represented 12% of the U.S. population (1), and the estimated 471,500 blacks living with diagnosed and undiagnosed HIV infection accounted for 43% of all persons living with diagnosed and undiagnosed HIV (2). In 2016, blacks represented 12% of the U.S. population (1), and blacks with new HIV diagnoses accounted for 44% of all new HIV diagnoses (https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/library/reports/surveillance/cdc-hiv-surveillance-report-2016-vol-28.pdf).
In 2014, among blacks living with diagnosed HIV infection, in 38 jurisdictions with complete reporting of CD4 and viral load data, 69.8% received HIV medical care, and 51.5% were virally suppressed (viral load test of <200 copies of HIV RNA/mL) (2). A study reported in this issue of MMWR found racial and ethnic disparities in viral suppression and transmission risk (3).
CDC supports a range of efforts to reduce the risk for acquiring or transmitting HIV infection among blacks. Additional information is available at https://www.cdc.gov/features/BlackHIVAIDSAwareness.
References
- US Census Bureau. Population and Housing Unit Estimates Datasets 2016. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau; 2016. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.2016.html
- CDC. Diagnosis of HIV infection in the United States and dependent areas, 2016. HIV surveillance report, 2016, vol. 28. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/library/reports/surveillance/cdc-hiv-surveillance-report-2016-vol-28.pdf
- Crepaz N, Dong X, Wang X, Hernandez AL, Hall HI. Racial and ethnic disparities in sustained viral suppression and transmission risk potential among persons receiving HIV care—United States, 2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:113–8.
Suggested citation for this article: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day — February 7, 2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:113. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6704a1.
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