BACKGROUND: Data are limited on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated influenza burden in sub-Saharan Africa and the impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). We compared influenza-related mortality in adults with AIDS in South Africa and the United States in the pre-HAART era and evaluated mortality trends after HAART introduction in the United States. METHODS: Monthly all-cause and pneumonia and influenza (P&I) mortality rates were compiled for adults with AIDS aged 25-54 years in South Africa (1998-2005) and the United States (pre-HAART era, 1987-1994; HAART era, 1997-2005). We estimated influenza-related deaths as excess mortality above a model baseline during influenza epidemic periods. Influenza-related mortality rates in adults with AIDS were compared with rates for age peers in the general population and adults ≥65 years old. RESULTS: In the United States before HAART, influenza-related mortality rates in adults with AIDS were 150 (95% confidence interval [CI], 49-460) and 208 (95% CI, 74-583) times greater than in the general population for all-cause and P&I deaths, respectively, and 2.5 (95% CI, 0.9-7.2) and 4.1 (95% CI, 1.4-13) times higher than in elderly adults. After HAART introduction , influenza-related mortality in adults with AIDS dropped 3-6-fold but remained elevated compared with the general population (all-cause relative risk [RR], 44 [95% CI, 16-121]); P&I RR, 73 [95% CI, 47-113]). Influenza-related mortality in South African adults with AIDS in recent years was similar to that in the United States in the pre-HAART era. CONCLUSIONS: Adults with AIDS experience substantially elevated influenza-associated mortality, which declines with widespread HAART introduction but does not disappear. These data support increased access to HAART and influenza vaccination for HIV-infected adults.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 1.1 million people are living with HIV in the United States and approximately 56,000 new infections occur each year (CDC, 2008; Hall et al., 2008). By the end of 2006, an estimated 21% of people with HIV did not know that they were infected (calculated using extended back-calculation methods) (Campsmith et al., 2010). Many of those who do learn their serostatus are diagnosed in the late stages of the disease—approx-imately 38% of those who are diagnosed with HIV progress to AIDS within a year of their first positive HIV test. HIV transmission rates from persons who are aware of their seropositivity is approximately 3.3 compared to a rate of approximately 11.4 of those unaware of their seropositivity (Holtgrave, 2010). Furthermore, with high-quality care, a 25-year-old HIV-positive person can live an additional 39 years (Lohse, 2007). This information confirms the importance of routine HIV testing and early linkage to care for persons who test positive (CDC, 2009).

BACKGROUND: Recent analyses have shown increases in combined annual HIV diagnosis rates for Asians and Pacific Islanders (API). METHODS: Using surveillance data from 33 states and 4 dependent areas we investigated the epidemiology of HIV among API during 2001-2008. RESULTS: HIV diagnoses for API during 2001-2008 were predominantly among persons age 30-39 years (40%) and males (78%). The primary risk factor for males was sexual contact with males (78%) and for females, heterosexual contact (86%). API were the only racial/ethnic groups with a statistically significant estimated annual percentage increase (4.4%) in HIV diagnoses over the time period. Thirty-seven percent of HIV diagnoses among API progressed to AIDS in <12 months, with significantly greater likelihood among those 30 years and older. Survival was lower among API with AIDS diagnosis after 49 years of age, and was higher among persons with AIDS whose primary risk factor for infection was heterosexual contact. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to other racial/ethnic groups, API were the only groups to show a significant increase in HIV diagnoses. A clearer understanding of the reasons for this trend is needed, so that appropriate interventions can be selected and adapted to prevent increased HIV prevalence among API in the U.S.

OBJECTIVE: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and AIDS increase the risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). We evaluated IPD among HIV-infected adults over a 10-year period in the US to identify opportunities for prevention of IPD among HIV-infected adults. DESIGN: IPD and HIV surveillance in seven population-based and laboratory-based Active Bacterial Core surveillance areas. METHODS: IPD cases were adults 18-64 years old with pneumococcus isolated from a normally sterile site during 1998-2007. Isolates were serotyped using the Quellung reaction. HIV/AIDS status was determined by medical record review. We calculated incidence of IPD among adults with AIDS using national case-based surveillance data. RESULTS: Of 13,812 IPD cases among 18-64-year-olds, 3236 (23%) occurred among HIV-infected adults (with or without AIDS) and 1313 (10%) occurred among the subset of HIV-infected adults with AIDS. Compared with the period (1998-1999) before childhood 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) introduction in the US, the overall incidence of IPD among adults with AIDS decreased 25% from 399 to 298 cases per 100,000 by 2007 (P = 0.008). In 2006-2007, 8, 39 and 55% of IPD cases among adults with AIDS were caused by serotypes included in the 7-valent PCV, 13-valent PCV and 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines, respectively. CONCLUSION: Sustained declines in IPD have occurred among adults with AIDS in the US, but incidence remained high 7 years after PCV7 introduction. More aggressive efforts, including HIV-prevention measures and the use of new PCVs in children and possibly HIV-infected adults, are necessary to further reduce IPD among HIV-infected adults.

OBJECTIVES: To describe adults/adolescents (age 13 years and older) living with undiagnosed HIV infection in the United States at the end of 2006. METHODS: HIV prevalence and percentage undiagnosed were estimated from cumulative HIV incidence using an extended back-calculation model (using both HIV and AIDS data, the time of first diagnosis with HIV, and disease severity at diagnosis) and estimated cumulative deaths. RESULTS: An estimated 1,106,400 adults/adolescents (95% confidence interval = 1,056,400-1,156,400) were living with HIV in the United States at the end of 2006; overall, 21.0% (232,700; 95% confidence interval = 221,200-244,200) were undiagnosed. Whites had the lowest percentage undiagnosed (18.8%) compared with Hispanics/Latinos (21.6%), blacks/African Americans (22.2%), American Indians/Alaska Natives (25.8%), and Asians/Pacific Islanders (29.5%; all P < 0.001). Persons with a behavioral risk of injection drug use (IDU) had the lowest percentage undiagnosed (female IDU: 13.7% and male IDU: 14.5%); men exposed through heterosexual contact had the highest (26.7%) followed by men who have sex with men (23.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Differences in undiagnosed HIV were evident across demographic and behavior groups. Effective testing programs and early access to treatment and prevention services are necessary to reduce undiagnosed HIV infections and HIV prevalence.