CDC Reports Most Recent AIDS Figures

WASHINGTON--The number of new AIDS cases diagnosed in the UnitedStates last year totaled 62,600, according to the first estimateof the 1995 AIDS incidence released by the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC). The incidence rose from 61,500 in1994.

This was the fourth year that new AIDS cases increased by lessthan 5%, a number well below the rate of increase in the epidemic'sfirst decade. As recently as 1991, the annual rate of increasewas 15%.

The CDC has received reports of 548,102 cases of AIDS since scientistsfirst recognized the disease. Of these, 343,000 have died. Thiscumulative number of AIDS cases includes 462,152 male and 78,654female adults and adolescents, and 7,296 children under the ageof 13 years. The number of new AIDS cases diagnosed among childrenappears to be decreasing, the federal agency said.

The AIDS trends noted by CDC from 1992 to 1995 include:

• The AIDS incidence stabilized in the West, but continued toincrease in other regions of the world.
• While the AIDS incidence stabilized among US whites, it continuedto increase among blacks and Hispanics.
• Among women, the incidence of AIDS continued to increase,reflecting a rising number of women who became infected throughsexual contact, mostly as the partners of IV drug users.
• Among men, the incidence stabilized, largely due to a stabilizationin the number of new cases among white men who have sex with men.