USA HIV & AIDS Statistics by Exposure Category

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The total number of people diagnosed with AIDS in the USA is over one million. This total increases by around 40,000 each year.

Around 48% of all people diagnosed with AIDS were probably infected with HIV through male-to-male sexual contact, while people exposed through heterosexual contact comprise around 18% of the total. Since the beginning of the epidemic, the number of heterosexual infections has increased dramatically. According to CDC estimates, heterosexual contact led to about one third of new AIDS diagnoses and one third of new HIV diagnoses in 2006.

Around 19% of all adults and adolescents diagnosed with AIDS have been female. Among new AIDS diagnoses in 2006, this proportion was 27%.

Of the estimated 9,144 children under 13 years of age who have been diagnosed with AIDS within the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 8,508 (93%) were probably infected with HIV through mother-to-child transmission. Most others were infected through receipt of blood, blood products or tissue.

Estimated adult and adolescent HIV diagnoses in 2006 by exposure category (33 states only)

Exposure category Male Female Total
Male-to-male sexual contact 17,465 - 17,465
Injection drug use 3,016 1,712 4,728
Male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use 1,180 - 1,180
High-risk heterosexual contact 4,152 7,432 11,584
Other/risk not identified 114 109 223
Total* 25,928 9,252 35,180

* Because totals are calculated independently of the subpopulations, the values in each column may not sum exactly to the figure in the "Total" row

Estimated adult and adolescent AIDS diagnoses by exposure category (50 states and D.C.)

Exposure category 2006 diagnoses Cumulative diagnoses
Male Female Total Male Female Total
Male-to-male sexual contact 16,001 - 16,001 465,965 - 465,965
Injection drug use 4,410 2,385
 6,795
 170,171 74,718 244,889
Male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use 1,803 - 1,803
 68,516 - 68,516
High-risk heterosexual contact 4,558 7,196 11,754 65,241 108,252 173,493
Other/risk not identified 217 220 437
 13,893 6,596 20,489
Total* 26,989 9,810 36,799
 783,786 189,566 973,352

* Because totals are calculated independently of the subpopulations, the values in each column may not sum exactly to the figure in the "Total" row

Notes

The latest statistics on AIDS & HIV in the USA were published in March 2008 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The next data are due November 2008.

There is often a delay between the time of diagnosis of HIV or AIDS, or the time of death, and the time at which the event is reported. Moreover, this delay may differ among different categories of people. For this reason the CDC estimates the number of diagnoses, deaths and people living with HIV or AIDS by adjusting for reporting delays, taking into account the differences between categories. The CDC also redistributes cases into exposure categories if none was initially reported. No adjustment is made for incomplete reporting. On this page, all numbers are CDC estimates.

On this page "adults and adolescents" are defined as persons aged 13 years or more. The term "exposure category" refers to the most probable route of transmission of HIV infection. The term "male-to-male sexual contact" includes gay men, bisexual men and some men who consider themselves to be neither gay nor bisexual. The "high-risk heterosexual contact" category comprises persons who report specific heterosexual contact with a person with, or at high risk for, HIV infection (e.g., an injection drug user). This does not include adults and adolescents born in, or who had sex with someone born in, a country where heterosexual transmission was believed to be the main mode of HIV transmission, unless they meet the criteria stated in the previous sentence.

The HIV statistics presented on this page include only the 33 states with a history of confidential name-based HIV reporting, as listed in our USA AIDS Statistics Summary. The AIDS statistics include all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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Last updated April 02, 2008