A new estimate by the Centers for Disease Control claims that one in 22 Blacks will be diagnosed with AIDS in their lifetime, more than twice the risk for Latinos and eight times that of Whites.
The estimate, reported this week by the Associated Press, is an update from three years ago and is based on 2007 death certificates, population figures and HIV surveillance data from 37 states and Puerto Rico. The report notes that the lifetime risk is 1 in 52 for Hispanics and 1 in 170 for Whites.
The CDC’s estimate also found that Asian-Americans, who contract HIV at the rate of 1 in 222, have the lowest lifetime risk.
While Black and Hispanic communities in this country have been disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS, the largest percentage of new HIV diagnoses in 2008 were reportedly among people between the ages and 40 and 44.
According to the CDC, at that time, Blacks accounted for 52 percent of new HIV diagnoses and 48 percent of AIDS diagnoses.
