Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. The World AIDS Day theme for 2009 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.4 million people living with HIV, including 2.1 million children. During 2008 some 2.7 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 2 million people died from AIDS.1 Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.2

The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower- and middle-income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.
http://www.avert.org/world-aids-day.htm

More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.

Africa has over 14 million AIDS orphans.

At the end of 2008, women accounted for 50% of all adults living with HIV worldwide

In developing and transitional countries, 9.5 million people are in immediate need of life-saving AIDS drugs; of these, only 4 million (42%) are receiving the drugs.

USA
Introduction
AIDS was first identified in the USA in 1981. The epidemic has now spread to every part of the USA and to all sectors of society.

It is thought that more than one million people are living with HIV in the USA and that more than half a million have died after developing AIDS.

American HIV surveillance data are not comprehensive so many statistics must be based on reports of AIDS diagnoses. In interpreting such AIDS statistics, it is important to remember that they do not correspond to new HIV infections. Most people live with HIV for several years before developing AIDS.

AIDS statistics
People living with AIDS
At the end of 2007, the CDC estimates that 468,578 people were living with AIDS in America, around 20,000 more than 2006. This number includes all people who have ever been diagnosed with an AIDS-defining condition and are believed to be alive, including many people who have recovered their health by taking antiretroviral therapy. The chart below shows the ethnicities of these people, revealing that black Americans have been disproportionately affected.

An estimated 3,792 children aged under 13 were living with AIDS at the end of 2007. The vast majority of these children acquired HIV from their mothers during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding.

People with AIDS are surviving longer and are contributing to a steady increase in the number of people living with AIDS. This trend will continue as long as the number of new diagnoses exceeds the number of people dying each year.

AIDS diagnoses and deaths
In June 1981, the first cases of what is now known as AIDS were reported in the USA. During the 1980s, there were rapid increases in the number of AIDS cases and deaths of people with AIDS. Cases peaked with the 1993 expansion of the case definition1, and then declined. The most dramatic drops in both cases and deaths began in 1996, with the widespread use of combination antiretroviral therapy.

Since 2000 the annual numbers of AIDS diagnoses have been relatively constant, with an estimated 37,041 in 2006. In total, an estimated 1,051,875 people have been diagnosed with AIDS in America.

The death rate among people with AIDS has also remained relatively stable in recent years; there were an estimated 14,561 deaths in 2007. Since the beginning of the epidemic, an estimated 583,298 people with AIDS have died in the USA.

Who is affected by AIDS?
During the 1990s, the epidemic shifted steadily toward a growing proportion of AIDS cases among black people and Hispanics and in women, and toward a decreasing proportion in MSM, although this group remains the largest single exposure group. Black people and Hispanics have been disproportionately affected since the early years of the epidemic. In absolute numbers, blacks have outnumbered whites in new AIDS diagnoses and deaths since 1996, and in the number of people living with AIDS since 1998.

During 2006 there were an estimated 28 paediatric AIDS diagnoses, compared to 195 in 1999 and 896 in 1992. The decline in paediatric AIDS incidence is associated with more HIV testing of pregnant women and the use of antiretroviral drugs such as zidovudine (AZT) by HIV-infected pregnant women and their newborn infants.

The age group 35-49 years accounted for around half of all AIDS cases diagnosed in 2007. Around two-thirds of all people who have died with AIDS did not live to the age of 45.

HIV statistics
At the end of 2007, the CDC estimates that there were 571,378 people living with HIV/AIDS in the 39 states and dependent areas that have a history of confidential name-based HIV reporting, based on reported diagnoses and deaths2. However, the total number of people living in the USA with HIV/AIDS is thought to be around 1.1 million3. The discrepancy between these figures is due to several factors including:

confidential name-based reporting of HIV diagnoses has not yet been implemented in all states4
anonymous tests, including home tests, are excluded from case reports
one in every five people living with HIV has not even had their infection diagnosed, let alone reported.5
During 2007, there were an estimated 44,084 new diagnoses of HIV infection in the 39 areas with a history of confidential name-based reporting. This is around a 15% increase on 2006 though an actual increase in the number of infections is just one possible reason given by the CDC. Other possible factors include changes to state reporting, an increase in testing, and instability in the data.

In the 34 states with a history of confidential name-based reporting, adult or adolescent males accounted for nearly three-quarters of new HIV diagnoses, more than two-thirds of whom were infected by male-to-male sexual contact. Heterosexual contact accounted for 83% of diagnoses among women and 14% among women. Injection drug use was the transmission route in 10% of male and 16% of female diagnoses in 2007. HIV was diagnosed in 159 children in 2007, all but 20 who became infected by mother-to-child transmission. Recent HIV reports represent a mixture of people with recent infection and others who may have been infected in the past but are only now being diagnosed.

Using a different statistics model it is estimated that around 56,300 Americans became newly infected with HIV in 2006 in the 50 US states and the District of Columbia. African Americans made up an estimated 45% of new infections, whites 35%, and Hispanic/Latinos 17%. Male-to-male sexual contact caused 53% of infections in 2006, with heterosexual contact and injection drug use being the other principal transmission routes causing 31% and 12% of new infections in 2006 respectively. The number of new infections peaked in 1984-85 at around 130,000 per year, fell to a low of around 49,000 in the early 1990s, peaked again at around 58,000 in the late 1990s, and then declined slightly to its current level. This overall pattern masks variation between exposure groups. Among men who have sex with men, there has been a steady rise in new infections since the early 1990s.

http://www.avert.org/usa-statistics.htm
[Edited 11/29/09 21:22pm]

Canada
At the end of 2005 there were an estimated 58,000 people in Canada living with HIV - up from 50,000 in 2002. Of these, around 30% were unaware of their infection. It is estimated that between 2,300 and 4,500 new HIV infections occur in Canada each year, though many of these are not reported right away.

From the start of testing in November 1985 until the end of December 2007, there have been 64,800 positive HIV tests reported to CIDPC (Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control). In 2007, there were 2,432 positive test results. This figure includes some persons not featured in the table below since they were under 15 years old; their gender was not reported; or they were reported as transgender

In the period 1985-2001, themen having sex with men category accounted for 62% of adult HIV diagnoses for which exposure category was reported. The equivalent proportion was 41% in 2007. Men who have sex with men (MSM) remains the largest single exposure category.

In recent years around a quarter of new adult HIV diagnoses have been among women. Half of all positive diagnoses in females were in young people aged under 20 years old. Although most exposure to HIV was from heterosexual sex, injecting drug use accounted for over 15% of infections women in 2007.

AIDS statistics
By the end of 2007, reports had been received of 20,993 AIDS diagnoses in Canada. This figure includes persons not featured in the table below since they were under 15 years old; their gender was not reported; or they were reported as transgender.

At least 15,556 people with AIDS have died.

http://www.avert.org/canada-hiv.htm

Latin America
It is estimated that in the Latin American area there were 2 million people living with HIV and AIDS at the end of 2008. Of these, 170,000 were newly infected during 2008. In that same year it is estimated that 77,000 people died of AIDS.

National HIV prevalence (the proportion of the population who are living with HIV) is now estimated to be at least 1% in Belize, Guyana, Panama and Suriname. However, in most countries HIV is not generalized but is highly concentrated in populations at particular risk. Despite a national prevalence below 1%, Brazil (by far the region's most populous country) accounts for around 43% of people living with HIV in Latin America. In some Brazilian cities, more than 60% of drug users are HIV positive.

Transmission routes
In the majority of South American countries, injecting drug use and sex between men are the most important routes of HIV transmission. The virus is then passed on to other sexual partners. In Central America, drug use plays a smaller role and most infections appear to be occurring through sexual transmission (both heterosexual and between men).

Unsafe sex among men who have sex with men (MSM) is common across the whole region. HIV prevalence rates among these men are between 8% and 26%. Nearly 60% of the HIV diagnoses to date, in Mexico can be attributed to unprotected sex between men. Studies in the Andean region have further highlighted the problem. HIV prevalence among MSM in Lima, Peru had been as much as 22%, but now is half that figure. Neighbouring Bolivia, however still has a HIV prevalence around 20% in MSM. In Lima sex between men is widespread; a tenth of men said they had sex with other men and of these, 9 out of 10 said they also had sex with women.

It is estimated that approximately 25% to 33% of men who have sex with men in Central America (not including Panama) also have sex with women. A high proportion of MSM who have sex with women do so without a condom, contributing to the increasing numbers of women becoming infected. A 2006 study showed that condom use among male sex workers in Latin America, particularly in Ecuador and Peru, was not adhered to as consistently as in female sex workers. However Colombia reports approximately 90% of sex workers, both genders, used condoms regularly in 2007.

The spread of HIV through the sharing of drug injecting equipment is still a feature of the epidemic in Latin America, notably in the capitals of Paraguay and Uruguay. However regionally IDU’s appear to account for a smaller number of new infections than shown previously. In Buenos Aires, Argentina IDUs accounted for only 5% of new infections and this decline is mirrored also in some cities in Brazil.

Provision of antiretrovirals
Countries in Latin America do seem determined to limit the impact of the epidemic, and are making efforts to provide antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to people with HIV/AIDS-related illnesses. Brazil in particular is now producing generic AIDS drugs at a fraction of the cost of the big pharmaceutical companies. Around 181,000 HIV-positive Brazilians were receiving treatment at the end of 2007, which was 80% of those in immediate need.

Other countries with high levels of access to antiretroviral drugs include Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela. However in Ecuador and the poorer countries of Central America a large proportion of people are still unable to access treatment.

The Brazilian government has estimated that antiretroviral treatment has contributed to a 50% fall in mortality rates, a 60-80% decrease in morbidity rates and a 70% reduction in hospitalizations among HIV-positive people. Argentina also reported decreasing numbers of deaths between 1999 and 2004.

AVERT.org features further discussion of treatment and other issues connected with HIV & AIDS in Latin America.
http://www.avert.org/southamerica.htm

Australia
An estimated 17,444 people were living with HIV in Australia at the end of 2008.

From the start of the epidemic until the end of 2008, there have been 28,330 diagnoses of HIV and 10,348 diagnoses of AIDS. Australia has recorded 6,765 AIDS deaths.

The annual number of HIV diagnoses in Australia peaked in 1987. There followed twelve years of decline, after which the rate of diagnoses grew again to reach 973 in 2008 (after adjusting for multiple reporting).

The annual number of AIDS diagnoses in Australia peaked in 1994 at 953 cases, and then declined rapidly to 216 in 1999. The fall since 1996 was largely due to the introduction of effective combination antiretroviral therapy, which delays progression from HIV infection to AIDS.

Exposure categories
Transmission in Australia continues to occur primarily through sexual contact between men. Around 66% of people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2008 were among men who have sex with men; 27% were exposed through heterosexual contact; 3% were due to injecting drug use; and a further 3% were men with a history of both injecting drug use and sex with other men. In 5% of cases the route of HIV transmission was categorised as other or undetermined.


Ethnicity and country of origin
Overall rates of HIV and AIDS diagnoses per capita have differed little between indigenous and non-indigenous people. However, there are significant differences in transmission routes.

Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people diagnosed with HIV in 2004-2008, sex between men was the reported source of exposure to HIV in 54% of the population (compared to 67% in the non-Indigenous population). Heterosexual contact was the reported transmission route for 23% of cases in both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population and the non-Indigenous population. The number of cases attributable to injecting drug use was higher among the Indigenous population (22%) than the non-Indigenous (3%).

Women accounted for a higher proportion of total HIV infections among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population (26.9%) than among the non-Indigenous population (11.6%).

People born in Australia accounted for 58% of HIV diagnoses in the period 2004-2008.
http://www.avert.org/aids...tralia.htm

Europe
According to UNAIDS estimates, around 2.3 million people were living with HIV in Europe at the end of 2008.1 Estimated HIV prevalence varies from below 0.1% in parts of Central Europe to above 1% in parts of the former Soviet Union.

The three main tables in this page have been constructed from estimates from the 2008 UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic. Unless stated otherwise, all other data is from the 2007 HIV/AIDS surveillance report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe.

As a large number of HIV infections, AIDS cases, and AIDS deaths are never reported at a national level, the figures from the ECDC/WHO report understate the true extent of the epidemic. In addition, the reliability of reporting systems varies between countries, making comparisons difficult.

http://www.avert.org/hiv-...europe.htm

Asia
http://www.avert.org/aids...stasia.htm

Sub Saharan Africa HIV & AIDS StatisticsAn estimated 22.4 million adults and children were living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa at the end of 2008.

During that year, an estimated 1.4 million Africans died from AIDS. Around 14.1 million children have lost one or both parents to the epidemic.

The estimated number of adults and children living with HIV/AIDS, the number of deaths from AIDS, and the number of living orphans in individual countries in sub-Saharan Africa at the end of 2007 are shown below.
http://www.avert.org/subaadults.htm

yet other things *like smoking* kill far more than AIDS. Weird how people KNOW the risk and still do things they KNOW can make them sick or even kill them.

Thanks for posting these Eric.

ehuffnsd said:

T4P

Thank you Eric.

Thanks for raising awareness.

I know you do it everyday, but this is nice.

Thank you!

[Edited 11/30/09 22:19pm]

I tested HIV Positive on March 15, 2000. I had turned 19 two days before.

ehuffnsd said:

that is my best friends birthday

My cousin has AIDS... she was a drug user living with a drug user.
A couple of months ago, she had a stroke and is now paralyzed on one side. Now she also has dementia. She is failing fast...

for all those who live with this disease.

chocolate1 said:

Conspiracy theorist here. I still say AIDS WAS CREATED!
Humans have been around for hundreds of thousands of years, how did this new virus pop up all of a sudden in 1981?
It was probably designed to be used against certain people at a specific time but quickly got out of the control of it's creators and spread like wild fire.
The poor countries have been hit the hardest(as was probably intended) because they can't afford the expensive medicines.
AIDS is so difficult to stop because it's contracted during the act that comes naturally to us. That of reproduction. A medical cure MUST be found because human behavior will not change! It is in our DNA to have a sex drive and reproduce.

joseph8 said:

they've gone back and have tracked some cases of HIV to as early as the 1850s.

What we have to remember large portions of Africa had never been inhabited or explored by humans piror to the colonization, urbanization and eventually raping of the natural resources. By going into places humans had never been before we were exposed to viruses like Ebola and HIV that had been unheard of. Places like Africa are hit hardest because before HIV was offically discovered in June of 1981 medical standards of santization were different or not widely followed in places like SubSaharian Africa.

Research
Classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with "high activity", Texas Tech University hosts 60 research centers and institutes. In 2008, a team of researchers from Texas Tech University and Harvard University announced the development of an siRNA-based treatment that may ultimately counteract the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Human cells infected with HIV, injected into rats, have been cured by the experimental treatment. Clinical trials on humans are expected to begin by 2010. Texas Tech researchers also hold the exclusive license for HemoTech, a human blood substitute composed of bovine hemoglobin. HemoBioTech, the company marketing the technology, believes that HemoTech will diminish the intrinsic toxicities that have stifled previous attempts to develop a human blood substitute. On January 14, 2008, Texas Tech University announced the creation of the West Texas Influenza Research Center. The university has concluded human clinical testing of oral interferon in a five-year study of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and continues its study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

joseph8 said:

it makes one wonder.
another strong theory i've heard for sometime now is that there IS a cure for all if not most things . however the government and pharmaceuticals wouldn't make money if they actually gave the cure to people, now would they?

just makes you THINK about things.