Expanded HIV Testing and African Americans

HIV Testing by Gender Identity and Age

• Testing events were almost equally distributed between males (51%) and females (47%), with 0.1% of testing events attributed to transgender individuals. The newly identified confirmed HIV positivity rate was 1.0%, 0.5%, and 4.0%, for males, females, and transgender individuals, respectively.
• By age, the greatest proportion of testing events was conducted among 20-29 year olds (approximately 36%) followed by 30-39 year olds (approximately 19%), however the newly identified confirmed positivity rate was highest among 40-49 year olds (1.3%) and older adults aged ≥50 years of age (1.1%).

Percentages of HIV Testing Events, Confirmed New Positives and New Positivity Rates Among African Americans by Gender Identity

Percentages of HIV Testing Events, Confirmed New Positives and New Positivity Rates Among African Americans by Age Groups

HIV Testing by Behavioral Risk

• Among newly confirmed HIV-positive males for whom behavioral risk was collected, sexual contact with other males (MSM) (approximately 36%) was the highest reported risk behavior; while high-risk heterosexual contact (approximately 62%) was the highest reported risk behavior among newly confirmed HIV-positive females.

Percentage of Confirmed HIV Positive Events Among Male African Americans by Behavioral Risk

Percentage of Confirmed HIV Positive Events Among Female African Americans by Behavioral Risk

References and Notes

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV surveillance -- United States, 1981-2008. MMWR 2011; 60(21):689-93.
2. Humes K, Jones NA, Ramirez, RR. Overview of race and Hispanic origin: 2010. 2011. U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed February 1, 2012.
3. Prejean J, Song R, Hernandez A, Ziebell R, Green T, et al. 2011. Estimated HIV Incidence in the United States, 2006-2009. PLoS ONE 6(8): e17502. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017502.
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV prevalence estimates -- United States, 2006. MMWR 2008; 57(39): 1073-76.
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Persons tested for HIV -- United States, 2006. MMWR 2008; 57(31):845-49.
6. Black AIDS Institute. Passing the test: The challenges and opportunities of HIV testing in Black America. 2009. Accessed February 1, 2012.
7. A testing event is the sequence of one or more tests conducted on a person to determine his or her HIV status. During one testing event, a person may be tested once (e.g., one rapid test or one conventional test) or multiple times (e.g., one rapid test followed by one conventional test to confirm the preliminary HIV-positive test result).