The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) annual HIV Surveillance Report titled Diagnoses of HIV Infection in the United States and Dependent Areas, 2013, is now available online . The report summarizes information about diagnosed HIV infection from 2009 to 2013 representative of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and six U.S. dependent areas. Overall, HIV diagnosis rates remain stable yet disparities persist among some groups.

The report shows that the annual rate of diagnosis in the United States remained stable with 15.0 per 100,000 in 2013 compared to 15.3 per 100,000 in 2009.

Despite this, disparities persist—and in some cases—rates have increased among certain groups. As evidenced by this report and other previously released data, gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM); young adults; and racial and ethnic minorities continue to bear the disproportionate burden of HIV, as well as individuals living in the South:

1. In 2013, MSM (including men with infection attributed to male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use) accounted for 68 percent of all new HIV diagnoses—a 10 percent increase from 2009
2. Young adults aged 25-29 years had the highest diagnosis rate (36.3 per 100,000) followed by persons aged 20-24 years (35.3 per 100,000)
3. African Americans accounted for the highest rate of HIV diagnoses, 55.9 per 100,000 compared to all other racial and ethnic groups
4. And regionally, rates per 100,000 were the highest in the South (20.5) compared to the Northeast (15.9), the West (10.8) and the Midwest (9.0)

At the end of 2012, there was an estimated 914,826 persons in the United States living with diagnosed HIV infection.

For individuals and groups at higher risk for HIV infection, testing is the critical first step towards accessing effective care and prevention services. But testing is only the beginning—once diagnosed, people need medical care and antiretroviral treatment so they can live longer and healthier lives and greatly reduce the chances of passing the virus on to others.

Surveillance is the cornerstone to understanding the burden of disease. CDC monitors our nation’s progress in reducing HIV so that resources are targeted in the right populations and are used to guide public health action at every level—national, state and local.

HIV surveillance data are used by CDC’s public health partners, other federal agencies, health departments, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and the general public to help monitor and focus primary prevention efforts, testing initiatives, awareness efforts of serostatus among persons living with HIV; and to plan services, allocate resources, develop policy, and monitor trends in HIV infection.

The 2013 HIV Surveillance Report is also available on the CDC Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention’s website.