Extra info on AIDS/HIV

It's been a while since I posted something completely in English, but I do need to do it frequently so I can keep practicing it and don't forget it. Anyways, I wanted to keep on informing people about AIDS/HIV virus since yesterday was the World AIDS Day and on my post yesterday I did mention I wanted to post as much info as possible during these days. Yesterday I found an interesting article on MSN's website that spoke about some of the most important facts about AIDS. This article was titled TOP 8 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT AIDS/HIV IN AMERICA and it was posted on the Health Section of MSN website by Jeri_at_Health. Here's basically the top 8 things we should know about this disease in America, exactly as written by the author of the article mentioned before:

1. Gender prevalence
Just over 75 percent of adults and adolescents living with AIDS are men.

2. Race prevalence
The three leading groups most impacted by the infection are black/African American at 44.1 percent, white at 35.1 percent, and Hispanic/Latino at 19.1 percent.

3. How are we infected?
More than two-thirds of infections in the U.S. occur via male-to-male sexual contact. Heterosexual contact accounted for 83 percent of diagnoses among women. Injection drug use was the culprit in 10 percent of male and 16 percent of female diagnoses in 2007. HIV was diagnosed in 159 children in 2007, all but 20 who became infected by mother-to-child transmission.

4. Where does the infection live?
The HIV/AIDS epidemic in America was once concentrated mainly in the gay populations on the East and West coasts. However, in recent years AIDS has become increasingly prevalent within black and Latino communities in many Southern states. Highest infection concentrations were found in Texas, California, Florida, Georgia and New York. The lowest numbers were in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. In 2007, the highest rates of new diagnoses were in Miami, New Orleans, and Washington D.C.

5. What prevention efforts have been most successful?
One of the most successful efforts toward prevention has been intervention of mother-to-child transmission and antiviral therapies. Mother-to-child transmission has been drastically reduced in the U.S. due to access to antiretroviral therapies, testing and counseling, and safer delivery practices.

6. Stigma
In October 2009, President Obama announced that America's ban on entry into the country for HIV positive people, would be lifted as of January 2010. The ban, which was instituted in 1987, restricted all HIV positive people from entering the country, whether they were on holiday or visiting on a longer-term basis. Those who did not hold an approved medical waiver form (which was often difficult to acquire) risked being barred entry or deported if they test HIV positive or were found to be carrying antiretroviral medication.

7. Government funding
The 2009 budget request for HIV and AIDS domestic spending is estimated at just over $18 billion. Of this, roughly 68 percent is for care, 15 percent for research, 10 percent for cash and housing assistance, and 4 percent for prevention.

8. Children and HIV
Approximately 9,000 children under 13 years of age have been diagnosed with AIDS in America. Of those, close to 90 percent were likely infected via mother-to-child transmission. Most others were infected through receipt of blood, blood products or tissue.

It's very important to be informed on this epidemic and to avoid any of the things that help spread it. It's really sad that Hispanic/Latinos is one of the top races that is battling against AIDS/HIV. We must be informed in order to avoid this illness and to reduce the amount of people infected, especially the Hispanic/Latino population. I will try to keep on posting this week more info in regards to this illness and any topic related to it. I hope this info is good for everyone who reads it.