December 1, 2011 | 12:42 PM | By

World AIDS Day: Explaining HIV Infection Rate Disparities

Although HIV infection rates have remained relatively stable for most people, they’ve risen dramatically in recent years for one group: young, black gay men.

Today, as people around the country commemorate World AIDS Day, we thought it appropriate to point our readers to a previous DCentric post explaining why this group is still disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Battling the disease is of particular concern in D.C., where 3 percent of the population has HIV/AIDS.


The HIV infection rate for young black men who have sex with men is growing at an “alarming” rate.

That’s according to a report released this month by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC studied HIV infection rates from 2006 to 2009, and found that the rate increased by 48 percent for 13 to 29 year-old black men who have sex with men. Meanwhile, infection rates have remained relatively stable for all other groups.

Read more at: dcentric.wamu.org