MONDAY, Nov. 23, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The rate of HIV-related deaths among people aged 13 and older in the United States fell by nearly half from 2010 to 2017, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
During that time, the age-adjusted HIV-related death rate — the number of HIV-related deaths per 1,000 people with HIV — also fell from 9.1 to 4.7, a decline of 48%.
Reductions occurred among men and women, across all ages, and among all racial and ethnic groups.
The study was published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Despite the decrease in deaths, there were still more than 5,500 HIV-related deaths in 2017. That number is still too high — particularly among Blacks and people of multiple races – and highlights the need for additional efforts to combat HIV, according to the CDC.
“The decline in HIV-related deaths proves that investments in HIV testing, care, and treatment are paying off, but we should also protect people from getting HIV in the first place,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, said in an agency news release.
“Through the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, we are working to accelerate progress and ultimately make this epidemic a thing of the past.”
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