WASHINGTON, Nov 26 (AFP) - The United States saw an alarming jump in the number of new HIV/AIDS cases among homosexual men between 1999 and 2002, US health authorities said Wednesday.
The number of new infections for this period rose 7.3 percent for all men but 17 percent for gays, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The figures covered only 29 US states and did not include states such as California, New York, Washington and Illinois, which have been particularly badly hit by AIDS and HIV.
The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report said the number of overall cases among men had increased from 17,556 in 1999 to 18,843 in 2002 and among homosexuals, from 9,988 to 11,686.
The figures were released ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1.
"Reports of syphilis outbreaks and increased unprotected sex raised concerns regarding increases in HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM)," said the report.
CDC experts said the report "indicated that HIV diagnoses increased among men, particularly MSM, and also among non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics.
"The findings emphasise the need for new prevention strategies to reverse potential increases in HIV among these populations."
New cases among women, heterosexuals and drug addicts stabilised over the same period, the CDC said.
Among the entire US population, the number of AIDS cases increased 5.1 percent between 1999 and 2002, while the trend had previously been to fall.
There were a total of 102,590 cases in the 29 states -- 70.5 percent among men and 29.5 percent among women.
Blacks continue to make up the biggest proportion of new cases, at 55 percent, but there was also a 26 percent increase among Hispanic Americans.
Doctors and health pressure groups estimate that there are between 850,000 and 950,000 HIV-positive people in the United States, with 40,000 additional people contaminated each year.
US pharmaceutical companies are investing huge amounts in the search for an AIDS vaccine. But less than half of all US adults have undergone AIDS tests. A third of people who undergo a test never collect the results.
Nearly 45 million people around the world live with the AIDS virus, most of them in developing countries where they have no medical treatment. About 25 million people have died from AIDS.
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