U.S. to increase HIV estimate AIDS activists are at odds with government over data

The data help health
officials decide how much to spend on prevention
programs.

ATLANTA (AP) — Advocacy groups say new government estimates will show at least 35 percent more Americans are infected with the AIDS virus each year than the government has been reporting.

Government officials acknowledge they are revising the estimate, which they say is not yet complete.

But advocates are pushing for the government to release the number now. They say the delay may be partly political, and that it’s hurting prevention funding.

“Across the AIDS community, there is an incredible amount of suspicion,” said Julie Davids, executive director of the advocacy group Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP).

U.S. health officials have been estimating about 40,000 new HIV cases occur in the nation each year. However, at a national HIV prevention conference in Atlanta this week, advocates claimed the new estimate is 55,000 or higher.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the numbers are being reviewed for accuracy and won’t be released until early next year.

The new estimate is based on new testing technology, said Dr. Kevin Fenton, who oversees CDC’s prevention operations for AIDS and several other diseases.

The data have been submitted to a scientific journal for more rigorous review to ensure accuracy. They are expected to be released early next year, CDC officials said.

Estimates on new infections help health officials decide how much to spend on prevention programs.

While the estimated number of new infections has held steady at 40,000 for more than a decade, federal funding for HIV prevention in recent years has declined. Advocates say the trend has severely weakened community organizations that provide prevention and other services to people with HIV.

Although CDC hasn’t released any number, the estimate of 55,000 has been circulating among various experts as part of the peer-review process, said Walt Senterfitt, a Los Angeles County epidemiologist.

who chairs CHAMP’s governing board.

It’s not clear if the rate of HIV infection has been rising, or whether previous estimates were simply wrong, Davids said.