HIV infection rate decreased by 20 percent but not for gay, bisexual Latino men: CDC

There are over 1.2 million people living with HIV infection in the United States alone, and 1 out of 8 of these people is unaware of their condition, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. Yearly, there are about 50,000 reported new cases.

A new report coming from the CDC reveals, however, that the rate of new HIV infections has dropped over the last 10 years, but specific groups were not doing all that well to drop their numbers, Reuters reports. Between 2005 and 2014, the rates of new cases of HIV have decreased by about 20%, but gay and bisexual men living in the South are not seeing any progress to lower their numbers.

Dr. Jonathan Mermin, the director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at the CDC in Atlanta, told Reuters, "There is uneven progress and ongoing severe disparities."

"We’ve shown great differences among states, especially in the South, where they are years behind the rest of the U.S. in providing key preventive services," he explained. "That manifests itself in different health outcomes."

Buzzfeed reports that Dr. Mermin also commented, "All states must take responsibility for protecting communities that are at risk. But some states, especially in the South, are years behind."

According to the new government report, there has been a 22% increase in new diagnoses among black gay and bisexual men, but this number has leveled off since 2010. ABC News reports that gay and bisexual black men account for about 10,000 to 40,000 new HIV diagnoses in 2014, and while Dr. Mermin sees this as progress, Dr. Carlos del Rio of Emory University, who is also the head of a national group for doctors who treat AIDS and HIV, believes that this is still a statistic that needs to be worked on.

"Stabilizing at 10,000 is not a reason to celebrate," he commented.

There also has been a 24% increase in new diagnoses among Latino gay and bisexual men, compared to an 18% drop in their white counterparts. Black gay and bisexual males aged 13 to 24 had an 87% increase in new HIV infections, but this rate has slowed down and decreased after 2010.

Dr. Mermin said that the racial gap for HIV is "a deeply disturbing finding" and that "health disparities have turned HIV from an infection into an injustice".

CDC says that the southern American states, which accounts for one-third of the US population, contributed to 44% of the HIV-positive individuals in 2012. Just last year, HIV was diagnosed in 27,000 gay and bisexual men, 10,000 heterosexuals, and 2,000 injection drug users, as per ABC News.