No Turning Back

High Burden of HIV

MSM account for an estimated 42 percent of total HIV infections in the United States each year, and approximately 60 percent of annual infections among men.

Research indicates that MSM are at significantly greater risk than other groups in the U.S. For example, studies of incidence among high-risk heterosexuals have found HIV incidence of roughly one-half to one percent annually.^(9,10,11) In CDC's Young Men's Survey, 4.4 percent of MSM ages 23 to 29 in six cities were infected each year.⁽¹²⁾

African-American MSM are at even greater risk of infection than other racial or ethnic groups. In the Young Men's Survey, nearly one in three African-American MSM was infected before age 30, with nearly 15 percent of 23- to 29-year-olds newly infected each year -- more than five times the infection rate of white MSM in the study. In 1999, the rate of new AIDS cases (cases per 100,000 population) for African-American MSM was also more than five times that of whites.⁽¹³⁾

Latino MSM also face a high risk of infection, with reported AIDS incidence rates (cases per 100,000) more than 2.5 times that of white MSM.⁽¹³⁾ CDC's Young Men's Survey indicated that 15 percent of Latino MSM were HIV-positive before age 30, with 3.5 percent of 23- to 29-year-olds infected each year.⁽¹²⁾