HIV/AIDS in the Americas

Abstract

The Americas have accounted for the highest number of reported cases of AIDS of any region in the world since the beginning of the epidemic, primarly due to the high number of cases reported in the United States and Brazil. The characteristics of the epidemic vary by country, some countries having a pattern similar to the United States (HIV infection primarily among men who sex with men and intravenous drugs users) and others having patterns similar to Africa (HIV infection primarily through heterosexual transmission). The magnitude of the epidemic is difficult to determine in many of the countries of the region because of the low proportion of AIDS cases that are reported and because surveillance for HIV infected individuals among risk groups is conducted in very few of the countries. Although knowledge of HIV/AIDS is reasonably high in the region, knowledge alone has been demonstrated to be insufficient to alter behavior, especially among economically deprived groups. Nonetheless, in the absence of an effective vaccine and affordable treatment, health education and behavioral intervention remain the key weapons in the fight against the epidemic in the majority of the countries of the region.
J Epidemiol, 1996 ; 6 : S117-S119.