All-Time Low For HIV/AIDS In NYC

Via the New York Observer:

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released a new report Monday–coinciding with the 26th annual World AIDS Day–declaring that New York HIV diagnoses have reached an all-time low. The report shows that in NYC in 2013, 2,832 people were newly diagnosed with HIV and 1,784 people were diagnosed with AIDS. These figures are dramatically lower than those recorded ten years ago: 7,744 HIV diagnoses and 5,422 AIDS diagnoses. Although HIV diagnoses have dropped over 40 percent and AIDS diagnoses plummeted over 65 percent, Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said, “I am proud to celebrate an historic low for new HIV diagnoses in New York City, but, 2,800 individuals newly infected with HIV are still too many people. We must strive harder to reach communities of color, which bear the highest burden of HIV.”

The number of AIDS-related deaths in 2013 was also a new low at 1527. At the peak of the epidemic in the early 90s over 12,000 new HIV cases were being reported in New York City annually, with deaths peaking at 8200 in 1996 just as anti-retroviral therapy was approved by the FDA. An estimated 117,000 New Yorkers are presently living with HIV and nearly half are over 50 years old. Young black and Latino gay and bisexual men living in poor neighborhoods continue to suffer a highly disproportionate number of new infections.