• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
BlackDoctor.org
Where Wellness & Culture Connect

Where Wellness & Culture Connect

  • Health Conditions
  • Wellness
  • Lifestyle
  • Longevity
  • Resource Centers
    • Cancer Resource Center
    • Covid Resource Center
    • Clinical Trials Resource Center
  • Find A Doctor
  • BDO TV
Home / Health Conditions / HIV/AIDS / HIV Rates For Urban Black Women Five Times Higher Than Previously Estimated

HIV Rates For Urban Black Women Five Times Higher Than Previously Estimated

woman's eye closeup
(BlackDoctor.org) — AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins say they are surprised and dismayed by results of their latest multicenter study showing that the yearly number of new cases of HIV infection among black women in Baltimore and other cities is five times higher than previously thought.  The data show that infection rates for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, among this population are much higher than the overall incidence rates in the United States for African-American adolescents and African-American women.

The data come from an ongoing, larger series of studies supported by the HIV Prevention Trials Network, and reflect testing and analysis of at-risk women in six urban areas in the northeastern and southeastern United States hardest hit by the global AIDS epidemic.  The so-called “hotspots” are Baltimore; Atlanta; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Washington, D.C.; Newark, N.J.; and New York City.  Researchers plan to present their findings March 8 at the 19th annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle.

Specifically, the team found that among 2,099 women ages 18 to 44, 88 percent of whom were black, 1.5 percent (32 women) tested positive at the outset of the study, even though they all thought they were negative. Among those who initially tested negative for HIV, the rate of new infections was 0.24 percent within a year after joining the study.  Some 215 study participants came from Baltimore.

Experts say this rate of infection, or seroconversion, is five times previous estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overall for African-American women.

You May Also Like
7 Proven Ways to Cure an Upset Stomach

“This study clearly shows that the HIV epidemic is not over, especially in urban areas of the United States, like Baltimore, where HIV and poverty are more common, and sexually active African-American men and women are especially susceptible to infection,” says principal investigator for the Baltimore portion of the study, Charles Flexner, M.D., a clinical pharmacologist and infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins.

“We, as care providers and policy makers, have our job cut out for us in devising HIV prevention programs targeted to sexually active men and women in Baltimore and other cities,” says Flexner.  He says prevention tactics should include more counseling about sexually transmitted infections, distribution of condoms, and intensive education about safer sex practices.  Flexner is a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the university’s Bloomberg School of Public Health.

In Baltimore, the study conducted from May 2009 to July 2010 asked participating women about their safe sex practices and other health issues, then asked them to come to The Johns Hopkins Hospital for HIV testing at no cost.  Those who tested positive were offered counseling and treatment, and followed for the duration of the study.

“While we have always known that African-Americans had a higher risk of HIV infection than other American racial groups, this study confirms it and underscores the severity of the national and local problem, especially in cities,” says study site leader was co-investigator Anne Rompalo, M.D., Sc.M., an infectious disease specialist and professor at Johns Hopkins.

You May Also Like
How One Woman Eliminated 50 Fibroids without Surgery!

Rompalo says women of all races account for a quarter of the 50,000 new HIV infections each year in the United States, which adds to the more than 1 million men and women already known to have tested positive.  Sixty-six percent of the women newly infected each year are black, even though African-American women represent only 14 percent of the U.S. female population.  The national age-adjusted death rate for black women in the United States is nearly 15 times higher than that observed for HIV-infected white women.

The new study, formally known as HPTN 064 Women’s Seroincidence Study, ended in February 2011 and was funded by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

March 16, 2012 by Lorraine Jones, BDO Staff Writer

Read Next Article

The Latest In HIV/AIDS

HIV drug

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Delivers a Christmas Present for People living with HIV: The Drug Lenacapavir was just Approved!

There have been a handful of individuals who have been completely cured of HIV and I have reported on some of them in articles on blackdoctor.org. A larger number of individuals have been able to keep the virus completely suppressed read more about The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Delivers a Christmas Present for People living with HIV: The Drug Lenacapavir was just Approved!
how to become a nurse

How to Become an HIV/AIDS Nurse

Becoming an HIV/AIDS nurse offers fulfilling work focusing on the care of individuals living with a disease that emerged around the world in the early 1980s. Many have died from this virus, but it has now become a chronic illness read more about How to Become an HIV/AIDS Nurse

Model Reveals She Has AIDS; Doesn’t Know Where She Got It From

Social media model and influencer Gena Tew, who has more than 650,000 followers on TikTok recently revealed that she became severely sick and almost died because she was unaware she had AIDS for almost the last ten years. Recently, the read more about Model Reveals She Has AIDS; Doesn’t Know Where She Got It From
HIV virus

11 HIV Symptoms You Don’t See for Years

Within a month or two of HIV entering the body, 40% to 90% of people experience flu-like symptoms known as an acute retroviral syndrome (ARS). But sometimes HIV symptoms don't appear for years, some even a decade, after infection. So read more about 11 HIV Symptoms You Don’t See for Years
HIV

Remove the Stigma! Trans Advocate Speaks About the Need to Support Black Women Living With HIV

When it comes to HIV, “Prevention and care go hand and hand”, says Tori, as she speaks about the importance of supporting Black Women living with HIV. Tori Cooper is a Black trans advocate with over 30 years of service read more about Remove the Stigma! Trans Advocate Speaks About the Need to Support Black Women Living With HIV
HIV symptoms in women

5 HIV Symptoms Women Should Know

In the early weeks after becoming infected with HIV, it is not uncommon for women to be asymptomatic. Some may have mild flu-like symptoms, including fever, headache, and lack of energy. Often, these symptoms go away within a few weeks. read more about 5 HIV Symptoms Women Should Know

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to our newsletter

Poll

Popular Posts

  • Mo’Nique at 55: Slimmer, Happier & Wiser: “I Love Us For Real”Mo'Nique at 55: Slimmer, Happier & Wiser: "I Love Us For Real"
  • Monica Calhoun at 51: “Exude Beauty Inside, Manifest It Outside”Monica Calhoun at 51: "Exude Beauty Inside, Manifest It Outside"
  • Taimak: The Last Dragon Lives 35+ Years Later!Taimak: The Last Dragon Lives 35+ Years Later!
  • Chef Babette Davis: Making 70+ Look Simply Delicious!Chef Babette Davis: Making 70+ Look Simply Delicious!
  • John David Washington: “They Tried To Use My Name Against Me”John David Washington: "They Tried To Use My Name Against Me"

Podcast

Footer

Where Wellness & Culture Connect

BDO is the world’s largest and most comprehensive online health resource specifically targeted to African Americans. BDO understands that the uniqueness of Black culture - our heritage and our traditions - plays a role in our health. BDO gives you access to innovative new approaches to the health information you need in everyday language so you can break through the disparities, gain control and live your life to its fullest.

Connect With Us

Learn More About

  • Hepatitis C
  • Diabetes
  • Sickle Cell
  • Mental Health
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise With Us
  • BlackDoctor.org Advertising and Sponsorship Policy
  • Daily Vitamina
  • TBH

Copyright © 2023, BlackDoctor, Inc. All rights reserved.