CONNECTIONS From the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention

Mobile Version - January - February 2019

From the Director Dr. Jonathan Mermin

CDC partnered with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on the four-year demonstration project, Care and Prevention in the United States (CAPUS), funded by the Secretary´s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund (SMAIF). CAPUS brought these federal agencies together with relevant programmatic expertise. The project aimed to reduce HIV-related morbidity and mortality among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States by explicitly addressing the social, economic, and structural barriers to achieving optimal HIV treatment outcomes. Eight state health departments with a high burden of HIV and AIDS among racial and ethnic minorities received a total of $42.8 million. CAPUS projects provided these services:

  • Pharmacies extended walk-in HIV testing to non-traditional business hours.
  • HIV screening was conducted during routine medical interactions.
  • Data systems identified individuals out of HIV care and linked them to services.
  • To help people achieve and maintain viral suppression, CAPUS grantees provided financial incentives and treatment adherence counseling to improve clinical outcomes.
  • Grantees used social networks to reach young black MSM for HIV testing, linkage to care, and re-engagement in care.

CAPUS supported a capacity-building framework and systems-level improvements to help communities continue activities that improve their HIV prevention and care programs for racial and ethnic minorities. More information about the project can be found on the Public Health Report´s website.

HIV Surveillance Report

CDC recently published our 2017 HIV Surveillance Report. Overall, from 2012 through 2016, the rate of diagnoses of HIV infection in the United States decreased; however, it has been relatively stable since 2013. Some highlights include:

  • decrease of 27% among Native Hawaiians/other Pacific Islanders,
  • decrease of 9% among both blacks/African Americans and whites, and
  • the rate remained unchanged among Hispanics/Latinos.

During the same period, the rates of diagnoses of HIV infection in the Northeast and the Midwest decreased, while the South and the West remained stable. Diagnoses among people 25-34 continued to increase, specifically among MSM.

Advanced Molecular Detection (AMD)

When people are sick, time can be of the essence. The sooner public health professionals identify the pathogens and transmission clusters, the sooner a more rapid and effective response is possible. Advanced Molecular Detection (AMD) combines traditional boots-on-the-ground epidemiology work with genomic data to identify transmission links. To learn more, click here.