Worlds Aids Day
December 1st World Aids Day
Some important facts about HIV/AIDS
The following statistics are from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and similar organizations leading the world in HIV/AIDS prevention.
In 2007 the largest estimated proportion of HIV/AIDS diagnoses among adults and adolescents were men who have sex with men (MSM). This category accounted for 53% of overall diagnoses and 71% among men. High risk sexual contact (sexual contact with persons known to have HIV infection or have a higher risk of contracting HIV infection) accounted for 11% of overall diagnoses. 26% of HIV/AIDS cases are Females and of those 83% are from high risk sexual contact.
Persons 40-49 accounted for the largest portion of newly diagnosed infections at 27% Persons 30-39 the second largest at 26% followed closely by persons aged 20-29 at 25%
Worldwide 33 million people have HIV/AIDS
The CDC estimated the number of AIDS diagnoses, deaths and persons living in the United States in 2007: Aids diagnoses 35,962 Deaths 14,110 and persons living with AIDS 455,636 If we take a percentage of the 50 states in the US the number is estimated at 9113 per state. North Dakota is one of the states with the smallest number of infected people. But on the other hand some of the states around us rank right up there with the highest number of infected persons.
In a five year span there have been 1,018,428 AIDS diagnoses and 562,793 people have died from AIDS and there are really are no statistics of how many people actually are living with HIV/AIDS. This attributes for the fact that one out of five persons who live with HIV do not know they have HIV or AIDS. It is feared that 21% of HIV infected people don’t know they have the disease and 38% of HIV infected people in the United States are diagnosed late- within a year of developing AIDS Early diagnoses can prolong lives and will also help in less transmition of the disease. This can only happen if persons choose to be routinely tested for the disease. There has been a movement in the United States to routinely test persons for the disease but with the insurance companies and a decrease of government subsidizing testing has not increased in most parts. With better Health Care reform maybe we can reverse this trend.
Here is a quote from the former Surgeon General Everett Koop
“When you have sex with someone you are having sex with everyone they have had sex with in the last ten years”
There is only one way that we can reverse the transmition of this disease and that is to protect ourselves and help make sure that those that we love and know spread the word that HIV /AIDS kills and can be eliminated with adequate protection!
Now days it is much easier to get tested and results can be ready with in 20 minutes. Please go to this website for information about HIV/AIDS and finding a place where you can go to for discreet testing . Go to www.ndhiv.com or call1 800 706 3448
