A surveillance report that the Chicago Department of Public Health ( CDPH ) released Dec. 1 said that new HIV diagnoses in the city continue to decline from year to year, with 1,091 new diagnoses in 2013, down 41 percent from the peak of 1,857 reported diagnoses in 2001.
The report contains further positive news: Eight of 10 newly diagnosed adults were linked to care within three months of their diagnosis, and, among newly diagnosed individuals in care, 80 percent of those prescribed antiretroviral therapy achieved viral suppression.
"When it comes to the continuum of HIV care, Chicago fairs significantly better than the rest of the nation," wrote CDPH Commissioner Bechara Choucair. "In Chicago, we estimate that over half ( 54 percent ) received HIV medical care in 2011, that is compared to only 40 percent nationally. Additionally, we fair better than the nation in the percentage of those found to be on ART and those who are virally suppressed."
In 2013, male-to-male sexual contact remained the leading mode of transmission, leading to 75 percent of new infections. Uptown and Edgewater had the highest average HIV-infection diagnosis rates with 132.2 cases per 100,000 individuals and 100.8 cases per 100,000 individuals, respectively. Uptown and Edgewater also had the highest prevalence rates in the city, with 2,372 cases per 100,000 individuals ) and 2,360.2 cases per 100,000 individuals respectively. Thirty-nine percent of new diagnoses in 2013 were between the ages of 20-29.
Black individuals continue to bear the brunt of the epidemic. The rate of new HIV diagnoses in African-American Chicagoans64 cases per 100,000 individualswas more than twice that of Hispanics ( 28.1 per 100,000 ) or Caucasians ( 28 per 100,000 ).
Twenty-four percent of new HIV diagnoses were diagnosed with AIDS within 12 months.
The complete report is at www.windycitymediagroup.com/pdf/2014HIVSTISurveillanceReport2.pdf .