How many people are infected with the HIV virus?
• At the end of 2003, an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 persons in the United States were living with HIV/AIDS, with 24-27% undiagnosed and unaware of their HIV infection. • In 2004, 38,730 cases of HIV/AIDS were diagnosed in the 35 areas (33 states, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands) with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting. The CDC has estimated that approximately 40,000 persons become infected with HIV each year. • In the U.S., the cumulative estimated number of deaths of persons with AIDS through 2004 is 529,113. • For African-American men between the ages of 25 and 44, HIV is the fourth leading cause of death. It is the third leading cause of death for African-American women between the ages of 25 and 44. • About 71% of women currently living with HIV were infected through heterosexual sex, and 27% infected through injection drug use. • If a pregnant woman who is HIV positive takes HIV medications, her risk of passing the virus on to her baby lowers to less than 2% co
