HIV cases up in some components, DoD data showBy Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Oct 7, 2008 5:57:39 EDT
The number of Air Force men testing positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has increased threefold from 2004 to 2007, with 2007 reporting the highest numbers in 10 years, according to the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center.
While positive screenings remained generally stable in the other services, civilians applying for military service had a 33 percent increase in positive male applicants from 2003 to 2007. Rates among female applicants have been “low and stable” since 2002.
In 2007, 40 airmen tested positive for HIV, the highest number since 1996. “Of note, all new infections detected during routine testing in 2007 were among males,” the report states. Among Air National Guardsmen, only two people tested positive for HIV in 2007. Six Air Force Reserve members also tested positive.
In 2007, 60 soldiers were found to be HIV-positive. Over the 1990s, the rate of HIV prevalence among active-duty soldiers “declined by more than half,” the report states, adding that since 2000, prevalences “have been fairly stable — among males, females and overall.”
Of all soldiers who have been diagnosed with HIV since 1990, 381 are still in the Army.
Rest of article at:
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/10/military_HIV_armedforces_100608w/%2e