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Americans warned that too many Americans underestimate the risk of HIV or mistakenly believe that the virus that causes AIDS is no longer a serious health threat. trendings topics
A statement issued Thursday by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, 30 years after the first report about the mysterious and deadly disease. The statement calling for increased AIDS awareness and prevention efforts.
CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said more than 1.1 million Americans infected with HIV and that many of them are living longer thanks to new drugs. But he warned there is still no cure for HIV and the majority of new infections infecting people under the age of 30.
The CDC also warned that some groups of people hold a higher risk of HIV infection than the general population.
It says about half of all new cases of HIV are gay and bisexual men - who account for about two percent of Americans. African Americans and Hispanics are also exposed to higher risk of HIV infection than the general population.
Dr. Frieden said that reducing the HIV rate is very important, and treating new HIV infections estimated to cost over 200 billion dollars for Americans in coming decades.
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