7. What is the status of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York State?

As of December 2002, more than 157,000 persons in New York State had been
diagnosed with AIDS; approximately 62,000 of those persons are still living. Of those 62,000 persons living with AIDS:
•
45% are African American.
•
30% are Hispanic.
•
23% are white.
•
0.8% are Asian/Pacific Islander.
•
0.1% are Native American.
•
29% are women.
•
4% are under the age of 25.
•
13% are over the age of 50.
AIDS has been diagnosed in people living in every county of New York State.
However, 79% of New Yorkers currently living with AIDS were living in New York
City at the time they were diagnosed.
In June 2000, New York State began reporting cases of people diagnosed with HIV only (not AIDS) in addition to reporting AIDS cases. Since then, New York State counts and reports HIV cases separately from AIDS cases. As of June 30,
2003, there were 29,892 persons in New York State living with HIV (but not AIDS).
Of those persons:
•
46% are African American.
•
29% are Hispanic.
•
24% are white.
•
0.9% are Asian/Pacific Islanders.
•
0.1% are Native American.
•
36% are women.
•
14% are under the age of 25.
•
11% are over the age of 50.
Of those New Yorkers who are currently living with HIV (but not AIDS), 77% of
them were living in New York City at the time they were diagnosed.
The State Department of Health also tracks the “risk factors” identified by people
who test positive for HIV. The risk factor is the most likely way a person became infected. Of the persons currently living with AIDS in New York State:
•
31% have a risk factor of using intravenous drugs.
•
25% are men with a risk factor of having sex with men.
•
15% have a risk factor of heterosexual sex.
Injection drug use (through sexual contact with an injection drug user, or infants
infected prenatally) was the direct or indirect cause of infection for 44 percent of
the persons in New York State who were living with AIDS as of December 2002.
Of all cases with known risk, 52.3 percent are directly or indirectly attributable to
injection drug use.
Risk factor information is currently unavailable for more than 40% of the people
who are living with HIV only. Among the persons for whom risk data have been obtained:
•
41% are men with a risk factor of having sex with men.
•
27% have a risk factor of heterosexual sex.
•
22% have a risk factor of using IV drugs.
It is estimated that another 37,500 to 50,000 New Yorkers are infected with HIV
but do not know it.
As of December 31, 2002, 80,088 New Yorkers had died from AIDS.
____________________________________________________________________