HIV rates down by one third in the US over the last decade

HIV infection rates have fallen by a third in the US over the last ten years.

New statistics show that the diagnosis rate was 16.1 per 100,000 people in 2011, which was down from 24.1 in 2002.

However, according to BBC News, there has been an increase in diagnosis rates in gay and bisexual men aged under 24 and over 45.

“Among men who have sex with men, unprotected risk behaviours in the presence of high prevalence and unsuppressed viral load may continue to drive HIV transmission,” the report said.

A total of 493,372 individuals were diagnosed as HIV positive between 2002 and 2011, with The World Health Organization estimates that 35 million people globally have the virus.

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