New HIV and AIDS cases are again down sharply in Massachusetts, according to data released by state public health officials. Newly diagnosed AIDS cases dropped by 25 percent in 2000, officials reported, and newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection declined by 15 percent. This was the second year in a row that the number of AIDS cases declined in Massachusetts, after a one-year spike in 1998. New cases had declined several years in a row before 1998.

The latest numbers indicate that the decline is back on track, but public health officials are not sure of the trend. "We're hoping, but we're still very cautious," said Jean Maguire, director of the state's AIDS bureau.

Injection drug use continues to be the most common way of getting AIDS, with 33 percent of the new cases contracted that way. Another 22 percent of AIDS cases occurred through homosexual sex. Heterosexual sex accounts for 15 percent of new AIDS cases, up from 12 percent in 1999. Blacks make up 27 percent of AIDS cases and 24 percent of HIV cases.

Of total AIDS cases, 74 percent were men and 26 percent were women. For HIV cases, the breakdown was 70 percent men and 30 percent women. Maguire said the situation in some areas in western and central Massachusetts is particularly troubling, where women make up more than 40 percent of cases. "There's still a lot of work to do," she said.

The largest percentage of cases in 2000 was among people ages 30-39, with that age group making up 48 percent of AIDS cases and 45 percent of HIV cases. The city of Boston has a higher proportion of HIV attributed to gay sex (40 percent for Boston vs. 30 percent for the state). AIDS cases in the city are evenly divided between blacks and whites.

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