HIV Diagnosis in Black Men Varies on Testing Method, Study Finds

African Americans, account for nearly half of all new HIV infections each year – more than for any other race or ethnicity, the Centers for Disease Control has reported.


The CDC released the first multi-year estimates of the annual number of new HIV infections in the country, showing that while the number remained relatively stable overall between 2006 and 2009, sharp increases were seen among young black gay and bisexual men.


“We are deeply concerned by the alarming rise in new HIV infections in young, black gay and bisexual men and the continued impact of HIV among young gay and bisexual men of all races,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, said in a statement announcing the findings.


“More than 30 years into the HIV epidemic, about 50,000 people in this country still become infected each year. Not only do men who have sex with men continue to account for most new infections, young gay and bisexual men are the only group in which infections are increasing, and this increase is particularly concerning among young African American MSM,” said CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden. “HIV infections can be prevented. By getting tested, reducing risky behaviors, and getting treatment, people can protect themselves and their loved ones.”


Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, added, “Without intensified HIV prevention efforts, we are likely to face an era of rising infection rates and higher health care costs for a preventable condition that already affects more than one million people in this country.”


“HIV remains one of the most glaring health disparities in this country,” said Fenton. “While we all have individual responsibility to protect ourselves from HIV infection, the research clearly shows that individual risk behavior alone doesn’t account for the significant racial disparities in HIV. It is essential to understand the underlying factors that contribute to these disparities, such as poverty, discrimination and lack of access to health care.”


Fenton said the greater overall prevalence of HIV in minority communities means individuals within those communities face greater risk of acquiring HIV with every sexual encounter.


The key points in the report, published in the online scientific journal PLoS ONE are:


• There were some 50,000 annual new HIV infections between 2006 and 2009.


• While blacks are about 14 percent of the population, they accounted for nearly half of new infections in 2009 (44 percent or an estimated 21,200 infections). The rate among blacks was nearly eight times as high as for whites and almost three times as high as for Hispanics.


he findings are based on a multiyear report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found an alarming spike in new cases of HIV among Black homosexual men—nearly 50% of all new cases in the U.S. between 2006 and 2009.


These startling numbers prompted researchers to look at three methods of diagnosis in order to learn which was most effective, including:


— Partner services, which involves identifying, locating and interviewing HIV-infected persons to provide names and contact information of their sex and needle-sharing partners, notifying partners of their exposure to HIV and providing HIV counseling, testing and referral services to those partners;


— Alternative venue testing, in which rapid HIV testing is conducted in bars, churches or mobile units;


— The social networks strategy, where HIV testers engage HIV-positive individuals to become "recruiters." Through active enlistment and coaching processes, staff build relationships and help recruiters engage people in their social circles into HIV testing.


Alternative venue testing showed a rate of 6.3 percent, much lower than the rates for the social networks strategy (19.3 percent) and partner services (14.3 percent), the study showed. The odds for detection of HIV-positive in Black homosexual men were 3.6 times greater for the social networks strategy and 2.5 times greater for partner services than alternative venue testing.


Other noted differences were that men tested through alternative venue testing were younger and more likely to identify themselves as "gay" than men tested through the social networks strategy.


Meanwhile, the report concludes, men who tested through the social networks strategy reported more sexual risk behaviors than men tested through alternative venue testing.