MMWR

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

World AIDS Day — December 1, 2007

PRESS CONTACT: CDC
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention
Office of Communications
(404) 639-8895

No summary Available

Rapid HIV Testing in Outreach and Community Settings — United States, 2004–2006

PRESS CONTACT: CDC
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention
Office of Communications
(404) 639-8895

Rapid HIV testing in outreach and community settings can provide an important opportunity to test high- risk and minority populations for HIV infection and to identify individuals unaware of their infection. Approximately one-fourth of the more than 1 million Americans estimated to be living with HIV are not aware of their infection. To help increase knowledge of HIV status, CDC recently funded eight community-based organizations in seven U.S. cities to provide rapid HIV testing to individuals at high risk for infection. Of the 23,900 people who received a rapid HIV test between 2004 and 2006, 39 percent were black, 31 percent were Hispanic, 17 percent were men who have sex with men, six percent were injection drug users, and 66 percent had multiple partners in the prior year. Thirty percent of those tested had never been tested before, and of those who had been tested, 43 percent had not been tested in the past year. A total of 267 individuals (1.1 percent) were diagnosed with HIV, and of these, 74 percent were either black or Hispanic. These findings underscore the importance of reaching high-risk individuals with HIV testing services in a variety of settings.

Progress in Global Measles Control and Mortality Reduction, 2000–2006

PRESS CONTACT: CDC
Division of Media Relations
(404) 639-3286

Measles deaths in Africa fell by 91% between 2000 and 2006, generating a strong decline in global measles deaths, which dropped 68% worldwide – from an estimated 757,000 to 242,000 – during this period, and progress toward the United Nations goal of reducing measles deaths by 90% by 2010. According to WHO estimates, measles deaths in Africa fell by 91% between 2000 and 2006, from an estimated 396,000 to 36,000, reaching the United Nations goal to cut measles deaths by 90% by 2010 four years early. The progress in measles control in Africa helped generate a strong decline in global measles deaths, which fell 68% worldwide – from an estimated 757,000 to 242,000 – during this period. Several factors contributed to this progress: global routine measles vaccination coverage rose from 72% to 80% from 2000 to 2006; an estimated 478 million children aged 9 months to 14 years received measles vaccination through mass immunization campaigns; more countries have begun surveillance for measles; and clinical management of measles cases has increasingly been put into practice to save the lives of children with the disease. Major challenges remain to achieving the 2010 goal, including fully implementing measles control strategies in countries with large measles disease burdens, such as India.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES