|QUIZ CARD | HIV /AIDS AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS |

HIV/AIDS Among African Americans in the United States & California:

Both national and California HIV infection and AIDS case reporting data show that African Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, AIDS is the leading cause of death among African American women ages 25-34 and African American men ages 35-44. AIDS is one of the top three causes of death for African American men ages 25-54 and African American women ages 35-44.¹

• Through December 31, 2003, over 886,575 cases of AIDS were reported in the United States. Of this number, African Americans accounted for 39 percent of all AIDS cases.²

• The 2002 rate of reported AIDS cases in the United States among African Americans was 58.7 per 100,000 population, more than two times greater than the rate for Hispanics and eight times greater than the rate for whites.³

• At the end of 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 42 percent of all people living with AIDS are African Americans, the highest for any racial/ethnic group.⁴

• African Americans account for more than half (54 percent) of the 40,000 new HIV infections estimated to occur in the United States each year.⁵

• In California, as of December 31, 2003, there were 133,858 cumulative reported AIDS cases; of that, 23,596 were African Americans. This represents over 17 percent of all AIDS cases, yet African Americans constitute only 7 percent of California’s population.⁶

• African Americans represent over 19 percent (10,656) of all people living with AIDS in California as of December 31, 2003. Eighty percent (8,555) of that number are African American men while 20 percent (2,101) are African American women.⁷

• From July 1, 2002, through December 31, 2003, there were 28,055 reported cases of HIV infection in California, and African Americans accounted for 21 percent (5,809) of all reported cases.⁸

To learn about California HIV/AIDS programs and data, visit the Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS, web site at http://www.dhs.ca.gov/AIDS. For more information on HIV/AIDS services, visit the AIDS Hotline at http://AIDShotline.org or call 1-800-367-AIDS.

1 National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Report. 2002, Vol. 50, No. 16.
2 HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report-Cases of HIV Infection and AIDS in the United States, 2002, Vol. 14
3 ibid., p. 14
4 ibid., p. 7
5 ibid., p. 4
6 California Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS, Monthly Summary of California AIDS Cases, December 2003
7 ibid.
8 ibid.

Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS February 2004

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