In the United States~, HIV have only slightly decreased recently while they have drastically decreased in many other wealthy Western nations, As a result of more effective efforts abroad to quickly diagnose and treat the virus and market the HIV prevention pill, PrEP, new HIV infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that new HIV transmissions decreased by 12% countrywide between 2017 and 2021, from 36,500 to 32,100 cases, in a new surveillance report released on Tuesday.
In contrast, the annual infection rate decreased by more than 70% in the Netherlands, 68% in Italy, and 44% in Australia between 2015 and 2021, according to projections by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. About 2,700 diagnoses were made in England in 2021, according to UK health officials, down about one-third from 2017 and half from 2015.
According to experts interviewed by NBC News, the lack of a national health care system, a network of sexual health clinics, fragmented and underfunded public health systems, and a lack of coordination between the government, higher education, health care, and community-based organizations are the main reasons why the U.S. is so far behind other countries in the fight against HIV. These experts also cited elements including racism, a lack of evidence-based treatment options for opioid use disorders, state laws that make HIV exposure illegal, and a lack of confidence in persons of color by medical professionals.
According to Dr. Boghuma Titanji, an infectious disease expert at Emory University, HIV in the United States is a disease that disproportionately affects the most marginalized members of society. In contrast, the annual infection rate decreased by more than 70% in the Netherlands, 68% in Italy, and 44% in Australia between 2015 and 2021, according to projections by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
About 2,700 diagnoses were made in England in 2021, according to UK health officials, down about one-third from 2017 and half from 2015. According to experts interviewed by NBC News, the lack of a national health care system, a network of sexual health clinics, fragmented and underfunded public health systems, and a lack of coordination between the government, higher education, health care, and community-based organizations are the main reasons why the U.S. is so far behind other countries in the fight against HIV.
These experts also cited elements including racism, a lack of evidence-based treatment options for opioid use disorders, state laws that make HIV exposure illegal, and a lack of confidence in persons of color by medical professionals. According to Dr. Boghuma Titanji, an infectious disease expert at Emory University, HIV in the United States is a disease that disproportionately affects the most marginalized members of society.
1.2 million Americans are thought to be HIV positive. Only 87% of them have been diagnosed, and only 58% are receiving treatment and have a viral load that is completely suppressed, according to the CDC. Comparatively, strong national viral suppression rates of 82% in Australia, 83% in the Netherlands, 89% in the U.K., and 74% in Italy were calculated by health authorities. At least 16 other European countries have rates that are higher than 70%.
The new CDC research states that although accounting for only approximately 2% of the adult population in the U.S., gay and bisexual males continue to experience the virus’s hugely disproportionate effects. They account for roughly 70% of new cases.
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