U.S. sees HIV cases rise among gay, bisexual men

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The number of homosexual and bisexual men in the United States diagnosed with the AIDS virus has risen for a third year, raising concerns about a revival of the epidemic, a federal health agency said yesterday.

According to preliminary data from 25 states, new HIV cases among men who have sex with men rose 7.1 percent between 2001 and 2002, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"These findings add to the growing concern that we are facing a potential resurgence of HIV among gay and bisexual men," said Dr. Harold Jaffe, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, at the 2003 National HIV Prevention Conference, which is being held in Atlanta this week.

The CDC also reported that in 2002, AIDS-related deaths fell by 5.9 percent to 16,371, but overall AIDS diagnoses rose 2.2 percent to 42,136.

"The AIDS epidemic in the United States is far from over," said Dr. Jaffe. While treatment is crucial, he said, preventing infection in the first place is still the only true protection against the disease.

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest homosexual-rights group, said the new HIV numbers were "a wake-up call" for a comprehensive, science-based plan to prevent AIDS.

Dr. Jaffe cautioned that the higher number of new HIV cases could reflect higher numbers of people getting tested for HIV, as the tests show a new diagnosis but not necessarily a new infection. But the CDC official also noted that HIV diagnoses among other vulnerable groups have been stable.

The HIV numbers could point to a new trend but could also be "a blip in the data" because of the new CDC surveillance system, said David C. Harvey, executive director of AlDS Alliance for Children, Youth and Families.

In any case, it's a sign that "we need to renew our efforts on HIV prevention and we need the Bush administration to focus more on these issues," said Mr. Harvey. Investments in HIV prevention in the United States have paid off with lower transmission rates, he said. "Condoms work, exclamation point."