The Kansas City Star on Monday examined HIV-positive U.S. residents' increasing average life spans, which "def[y] the virus' early image as a quick death sentence" but often "[w]ea[r] out the sympathy and patience of friends as health deteriorates but life goes on." According to an ongoing CDC study, prior to the availability of more effective antiretroviral medications, the average length of time from HIV infection to developing AIDS in the United States was about nine years and the average time from an AIDS diagnosis to death was about one and a half years, Karlie Stanton, a CDC representative, said. Currently, the estimated average time between HIV infection and an AIDS diagnosis is 11 years, and the time between an AIDS diagnosis and death has increased to six years. However, the number of new HIV cases diagnosed annually in the United States has remained relatively stable, with about 40,000 new HIV infections diagnosed each year, according to the Star (Sanchez, Kansas City Star, 1/3).

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