What is the difference between HIV incidence and HIV prevalence?
HIV incidence is the number of new HIV infections occurring during a specified period of time while HIV prevalence is the total number of cases of HIV infection at a particular point in time. HIV prevalence can also be described as the total number of people living with HIV infection (including those living with AIDS) at a particular point in time. In the area of HIV/AIDS research, prevalence gives us an idea of how many people are currently living with HIV infection, and incidence gives us a sense of how many people are newly infected, that is, how fast the HIV epidemic is growing.
