As of the end of 2002, an estimated
42 million people worldwide - 38.6 million adults
and 3.2 million children
younger than 15 years - were living with HIV/AIDS.
Approximately 70 percent of these people (29.4 million)
live in Sub-Saharan Africa; another 17 percent (7.2
million) live in Asia.(1)
Worldwide, approximately twelve of every 1000 adults
aged 15 to 49 are HIV-infected. In Sub-Saharan Africa,
about 9 percent of all adults in this age group are
HIV-infected. In 4 African countries, the prevalence
of HIV infection among adults aged 15 to 49 exceeds
30 percent.(1)
Approximately 50 percent of adults living with HIV/AIDS
worldwide are women.(1)
An estimated 5 million new HIV infections occurred
worldwide during 2002; that is, about 14,000 infections
each day. More than 95 percent of these new infections
occurred in developing countries.(1)
In 2002, approximately 2,000 children under the age
of 15 years, and 6,000 young people aged 15 to 24 years
became infected with HIV every day.(1)
In 2002 alone, HIV/AIDS-associated illnesses caused
the deaths of approximately 3.1 million people worldwide,
including an estimated 610,000 children younger than
15 years.(1)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
estimate that 850,000 to 950,000 U.S. residents are
living with HIV infection, one-quarter of whom are
unaware of their infection.(2)
Approximately 40,000 new HIV infections occur each
year in the United States, about 70 percent among men
and 30 percent among women. Of these newly infected
people, half are younger than 25 years of age.(3,4)
Of new infections among men in the United States,
CDC estimates that approximately 60 percent of men
were infected through homosexual sex, 25 percent through
injection drug use, and 15 percent through heterosexual
sex. Of newly infected men, approximately 50 percent
are black, 30 percent are white, 20 percent are Hispanic,
and a small percentage are members of other racial/ethnic
groups.(4)
Of new infections among women in the United States,
CDC estimates that approximately 75 percent of women
were infected through heterosexual sex and 25 percent
through injection drug use. Of newly infected women,
approximately 64 percent are black, 18 percent are
white, 18 percent are Hispanic, and a small percentage
are members of other racial/ethnic groups.(4)
The estimated number of AIDS diagnoses through 2002
in the United States is 886,575. Adult and adolescent
AIDS cases total 877,275, with 718,002 cases in males
and 159,271 cases in females. Through the same time
period, 9,300 AIDS cases were estimated in children
under age 13.(5)
The estimated number of new adult/adolescent AIDS
diagnoses in the United States was 43,225 in 1998,
41,134 in 1999, 42,239 in 2000, 41,227 in 2001, and
42,136 in 2002.(5)
The estimated number of new pediatric AIDS cases (cases
among individuals younger than age 13) in the United
States fell from 952 in 1992 to 92 in 2002.(5)
The estimated rate of adult/adolescent AIDS diagnoses
in the United States in 2002 (per 100,000 population)
was 76.4 among blacks, 26.0 among Hispanics, 11.2 among
American Indians/Alaska Natives, 7.0 among whites,
and 4.9 among Asians/Pacific Islanders.(5)
From 1985 to 2002, the proportion of adult/adolescent
AIDS cases in the United States reported in women increased
from 7 percent to 26 percent.(5)
As of the end of 2002, an estimated 384,906 people
in the United States were living with AIDS.(5)
As of December 31, 2002, an estimated 501,669 people
with AIDS in the United States had died.(5)
The estimated annual number of AIDS-related deaths
in the United States fell approximately 14 percent
from 1998 to 2002, from 19,005 deaths in 1998 to 16,371
deaths in 2002.(5)
Of the estimated 16,371 AIDS-related deaths in the
United States in 2002, approximately 52 percent were
among blacks, 28 percent among whites, 19 percent among
Hispanics, and less than 1 percent among Asians/Pacific
Islanders and American Indians/Alaska Natives.(5)
1. UNAIDS. AIDS Epidemic Update, December, 2002.
2. Fleming, P.L. et al. HIV Prevalence in the United
States, 2000. 9th Conference on Retroviruses and
Opportunistic Infections, Seattle, Wash., Feb. 24-28,
2002. Abstract 11.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
HIV and AIDS - United States, 1981-2001. MMWR 2001;50:430-434.
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
HIV Prevention Strategic Plan Through 2005. January
2001.
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report 2002;14:1-40.
