Black American Men Have High Rates of HIV Infection: Study

HealthDay – 1 hr 40 mins ago MONDAY, July 23 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds disturbingly high rates of new HIV infections among American black men who are gay or bisexual, particularly those aged 30 and younger.

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.

Researchers with the HIV Prevention Trials Network looked at nearly 1,600 black gay and bisexual men in six cities -- Atlanta, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. -- between 2009 and 2011.

The overall rate of new HIV infection among the men was 2.8 percent per year, which is nearly 50 percent higher than in white gay and bisexual men in the United States. The rate among black gay and bisexual men 30 and younger was 5.9 percent per year.

The overall rate of new HIV infection among black gay and bisexual men in the United States is comparable to rates in the general populations of countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have been hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The study was to be presented Monday at the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C. Data and conclusions presented at meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

"We have known that black

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