MMWR Weekly - December 19, 2003 / 52(50);1229-1232
During the summer of 1999, an outbreak of early syphilis among men who have sex with men (MSM) who met their sex partners on the Internet presaged a rapidly expanding syphilis epidemic in San Francisco. By 2002, San Francisco had the highest rates of primary and secondary syphilis of any metropolitan area in the United States. During 1998--2002, the number of early syphilis cases increased, from 41 cases in 1998 to 495 cases in 2002. Concomitant with the increase in early syphilis was an increase in the proportion of cases among MSM, from 22% in 1998 to 88% in 2002.
MMWR Weekly - November 21, 2003 / 52(46);1117-1120
After declining every year during 1990--2000, the rate of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis in the United States increased in 2001. To characterize the epidemiology of syphilis in the United States, CDC analyzed national surveillance data for 2002*. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicate that the number of reported cases of P&S syphilis increased 12.4% in 2002.
Live and Let Live is the theme for this year's World AIDS Day, December 1, 2003. This theme highlights the obstacles that stigma and discrimination pose to the success of prevention and care programs for persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Discrimination against persons with infectious diseases is not new, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) continues to be a stigmatizing health issue for those living with the disease.
MMWR Weekly - November 28, 2003 / 52(47);1145-1148
Since the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1996, progression from receiving diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection to having acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has slowed substantially, making HIV-transmission patterns less predictable through AIDS surveillance alone. Consequently, CDC has recommended that states report diagnoses of HIV infections in addition to cases of AIDS. Recent estimates of HIV diagnoses suggested a leveling of the downward trend in HIV infections nationally and increases in HIV infections among certain populations. Reports of syphilis outbreaks and increased unprotected sex raised concerns regarding increases in HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM).
Injection-drug use is a risk factor for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (1). Of the 765,559 cumulative AIDS cases diagnosed as of December 2000, a total of 193,527 (25%) occurred among injection-drug users (IDUs) (2).
MMWR Recommendations and Reports, July 18, 2003 / 52(RR12);1-24
Reducing transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States requires new strategies, including emphasis on prevention of transmission by HIV-infected persons. Through ongoing attention to prevention, risky sexual and needle-sharing behaviors among persons with HIV infection can be reduced and transmission of HIV infection prevented.
As of December 2001, a cumulative total of 816,149 cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) had been reported to CDC (1). One of CDC's national human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)--prevention goals for 2005 (Goal 2) is to increase the proportion of HIV-infected persons in the United States who know they are infected from an estimated 70% to 95% (2).
Knowledge of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) serostatus has been an important element of HIV-prevention and -treatment efforts. In 2000, among the estimated 850,000--950,000 persons living with HIV in the United States, approximately one fourth (180,000--280,000) were unaware that they were HIV infected.
In several U.S. cities, recent outbreaks of primary and secondary syphilis among men who have sex with men (MSM) (1) and increases in newly diagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among MSM and among heterosexuals have created concern that HIV incidence might be increasing. In addition, declines in HIV morbidity and mortality during the late 1990s attributable to combination antiretroviral therapy appear to have ended.
Since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in the United States in the mid-1990s (1--3), the life expectancy of U.S. children who were infected perinatally with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has increased substantially. As a result, the number of perinatally HIV-infected females in the United States who are becoming both sexually active and pregnant is increasing (4).
MMWR Recommendations and Reports, January 31, 2003 / 52(RR02);1-13
These guidelines were developed by CDC for laboratorians who perform immunophenotyping for detection and enumeration of CD4+ T-cells and other lymphocyte subsets in persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The guidelines describe single-platform technology (SPT), a process in which absolute counts of lymphocyte subsets are measured from a single tube by a single instrument.
MMWR MMWR Recommendations and Reports, January 24, 2003 / 52(RR01);1-33
Persons incarcerated in correctional systems comprise approximately 0.7% of the U.S. population and have a disproportionately greater burden of infectious diseases, including infections with hepatitis viruses and other infections of public health importance (e.g., human immunodeficiency virus [HIV], sexually transmitted disease [STD], and tuberculosis [TB] infections) (1).
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