The red ribbon is a symbol of solidarity for those living with HIV/AIDS. (Trygve Utstumo/Flickr Creative Commons)
Troubling new research shows that rates of HIV among black gay and bisexual men are comparable to HIV rates seen in sub-Saharan Africa, a place that's among the hardest-hit by the disease.
TIME reports that new research presented at the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C. shows that nearly 3 percent of gay black men are newly-infected with HIV every year, a rate 50 percent higher than white gay men.
The new-infection rate is even higher among black gay men under 30 – 6 percent every year.
Another recent report by the Black AIDS Institute showed that even though one in 500 Americans is a black gay or bisexual male, they account for approximately 25 percent of new HIV infections in the United States.
That sobering study also found that a black gay man has a 25 percent chance of becoming infected by age 25; by the time he's 40, that likelihood's up to 60 percent.
As of December 2011, South Los Angeles accounted for approximately 10 percent of the county's HIV/AIDS cases, according to the Department of Public Health.
Of those southside cases, which total just under 4,600, more than half of those infected are black. Compare that to the county, where black people account for just 21 percent of HIV/AIDS infections.
In South L.A., 63 percent of HIV/AIDS cases can be attributed to men having sex with men. The region also accounts for 25 percent of the county's HIV/AIDS cases involving black males.
According to TIME, members of the medical community called the findings "extremely concerning" and "a sobering wake-up call."
Photo by Trygve Utstumo via Flickr Creative Commons.
