Health officials highlight issue of HIV transmission as U.S. works toward 2030 goal

As this year's National HIV Prevention Conference kicked off in Atlanta yesterday, the CDC released a report outlining HIV transmission in U.S. Eighty percent of new HIV transmissions are from the 40 percent of infected individuals who are either unaware of their positive status or who aren’t getting the appropriate treatment. The remaining transmissions are from people who are being treated but whose infection isn’t yet under control to prevent passing on the disease. And even though there is still a long road ahead, “today's report shows how a goal that once seemed impossible is now within reach,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said in a media briefing.

This morning, HHS Secretary Alex Azar is addressing the conference on the Trump administration’s recently announced initiative to reduce new HIV transmission by 90 percent over the next decade.