National Latino AIDS Awareness Day --- October 15, 2010

National Latino AIDS Awareness Day --- October 15, 2010
Weekly
October 15, 2010 / 59(40);1297

October 15, 2010, is National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, which seeks to raise awareness of the disproportionate impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) on the Hispanic/Latino population in the United States and to encourage prevention measures, such as HIV testing. Estimates of HIV incidence for 2006 indicated that Hispanics had a rate of 29.3 per 100,000 population, compared with 11.5 for whites (1). A goal of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy is to reduce disparities in HIV infection (2).

In 2006, male-to-male sexual contact was associated with an estimated 55% of new infections among all Hispanics and an estimated 72% of new infections among Hispanic males (3). Among Hispanic females, high-risk heterosexual contact was associated with an estimated 83% of new infections (3). Data from CDC's National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System show that, in 2008, 46% of HIV-infected Hispanic men who have sex with men (MSM) did not know they were infected, compared with 26% of white MSM (4).

Additional information about National Latino AIDS Awareness Day is available at http://www.cdc.gov/features/latinoaidsawareness. Information about CDC activities and HIV resources is available at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/hispanics.
References

1. Hall HI, Song R, Rhodes P, et al. Estimation of HIV incidence in the United States. JAMA 2008;300:520--9.
2. Office of National AIDS Policy. National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Washington, DC: Office of National AIDS Policy; 2010. Available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/onapExternal Web Site Icon [Office of National AIDS Policy | The White House]. Accessed October 5, 2010.
3. CDC. Subpopulation estimates from the HIV incidence surveillance system---United States, 2006. MMWR 2008;57:985--9 [Subpopulation Estimates from the HIV Incidence Surveillance System --- United States, 2006].
4. CDC. Prevalence and awareness of HIV infection among men who have sex with men---21 cities, United States, 2008. MMWR 2010;59:1201--7. [Prevalence and Awareness of HIV Infection Among Men Who Have Sex With Men --- 21 Cities, United States, 2008]

National Latino AIDS Awareness Day --- October 15, 2010

National Latino AIDS Awareness Day --- October 15, 2010