11 Facts about HIV/AIDS in the U.S.

The first case of what would later become known as AIDS was reported in the U.S. in June of 1981.
Since that time, approximately 1.7 million people in the U.S. are estimated to have been infected with HIV.
Almost 566,000 have died of AIDS related causes in the U.S. since the beginning of the epidemic.
In 2005, HIV was the sixth leading cause of death for those aged 25-44, down from number one in 1994 and 1995.
More than 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS today, with an estimated 440,000 Americans living with full blown AIDS.
At its peak in the 1980s, 130,000 people were infected with HIV every year. In 2006, 56,000 people were newly infected with the virus.
Approximately 21% of those infected with HIV do not know it and many are diagnosed late in the later stages of the disease.
Most new HIV infections are attributable to sex between men (56% in 2006).
Heterosexual transmission has accounted for a growing share of new HIV infections over time, representing 31% of new infections in 2006.
There are more than 500,000 Blacks living with HIV and AIDS in the U.S, more than any other group. Blacks also have the highest AIDS case rates of any racial/ethnic group.
Women of color are particularly affected; in 2006, black women accounted for the largest share of new HIV infections (61%) and two-thirds (66%) of new AIDS cases among women.

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