HIV in the United States:
The Stages of Care
CDC
FACT
SHEET
In November 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a comprehensive analysis showing that only
one-third of the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV have their virus under control.
The study, based on HIV prevalence data from 2011 and other data sources, includes information on the proportion of people
engaged in each of the main stages of HIV care:
HIV testing and diagnosis
Engagement in care
Provision of antiretroviral therapy
Achieving “viral suppression,” by using treatment to keep HIV at a level that helps individuals stay healthy and reduces
the risk of transmitting the virus to others
The analysis also provides the the most up-to-date look at HIV care by age, race/ethnicity, gender, and risk group. These
findings are summarized in the charts below.
OVERALL: Of the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV, only 30 percent are virally suppressed.
100
86%
Percent of all People with HIV
80
60
40%
40
37%
30%
20
0
Diagnosed
Engaged
in Care
Prescribed
ART
Virally
Suppressed
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
NOVEMBER 2014
BY AGE: Younger Americans are least likely to have their virus in check.
100
Diagnosed
95%
93%
92%
Engaged in care
Percent of all People with HIV
86%
80
Prescribed ART
Virally suppressed
74%
60
49%
43%
40
20
0
34%
38%
30%
18–24
25–34
45% 43%
42%
41%
34%
37%
36%
34%
27%
23%
22%
18%
13%
44%
35–44
45–54
55–64
>= 65
BY RACE/ETHNICITY: Low levels of viral suppression are seen across racial and ethnic groups.
100
Diagnosed
Percent of all People with HIV
85%
Engaged in care
88%
85%
Prescribed ART
80
Virally suppressed
60
40
40%
40% 36%
28%
37%
39% 37%
32%
31%
20
0
Black/African American
Hispanic/Latino
White
NOVEMBER 20142
BY GENDER: Men and women are equally likely to be virally suppressed.
100
Diagnosed
88%
Percent of all People with HIV
85%
Engaged in care
Prescribed ART
80
Virally suppressed
60
45%
38%
40
35%
41%
32%
29%
20
0
Male
Female
BY RISK GROUP: Across all risk groups, roughly a third have their virus in check.
Percent of all People with HIV
100
80
93%
94%
Diagnosed
93%
84%
81%
86%
Engaged in care
Prescribed ART
Virally suppressed
60
40
38%
35%
30%
36%
34%
28%
47%
42%
34%
48%
44%
35%
36%
34%
27%
43%
40%
31%
20
0
MSM*
Male IDU**
Female IDU
MSM/IDU
Heterosexual
Men
Heterosexual
Women
* The term men who have sex with men (MSM) is used in CDC surveillance systems because it indicates the behaviors that transmit HIV infection, rather than
how individuals self-identify in terms of their sexuality
** IDU = Injection drug user
Closing the Gaps
To reduce the impact of HIV in the United States, improvements are needed at each stage of the process with particular efforts
to reduce disparities by age. HIV testing is a first critical step in HIV prevention, and the only way to identify the nearly one in
seven — more than 168,000 — Americans with HIV who do not know they are infected. In addition, ensuring that people have
access to care, stay in care and remain on treatment will increase the proportion of HIV-infected individuals who achieve and
maintain viral suppression, which is critical to improve health and realize the full potential prevention benefits of treatment.
Source: CDC. Vital Signs: HIV Diagnosis, Care, and Treatment Among Persons Living with HIV — United States, 2011. MMWR 2014;63(Early Release):1-6.
NOVEMBER 20143