US: Most young gay men living with HIV don’t know they are infected

The new data shows that young people between the ages of 13 and 24 represent 26 per cent of new HIV infections each year and 60 per cent of these people do not know they are infected.

The report estimates that 12,200 new HIV infections occurred in 2010 among young people aged 13-24, with 72 per cent of estimated new HIV infections in young men who have sex with other men.

CDC’s Thomas Frieden said: “That so many young people become infected with HIV each year is a preventable tragedy. All young people can protect their health, avoid contracting and transmitting the virus, and learn their HIV status.”

The CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics have previously called for routine HIV testing of youth but only 35 percent of 18-24 year olds have ever been tested for HIV.  Read More