Distribution of AIDS diagnoses in the U.S. through by transmission category 2018

* Transmission category is the term for the classification of cases that summarizes a person’s possible HIV risk factors; the summary classification results from selecting, from the presumed hierarchical order of probability, the one risk factor most likely to have resulted in HIV transmission. The exception is men who had sexual contact with other men and injected drugs; this group makes up a separate transmission category. Data have been statistically adjusted to account for missing transmission category.

Diagnoses of HIV infection classified as stage 3 (AIDS) refer to confirmed diagnoses during a given time period. For example, the 2018 data on AIDS diagnoses would include persons with laboratory-confirmatory evidence of AIDS diagnoses during January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 and reported to CDC through June 30, 2019. Data for the year 2018 are preliminary and based on 6 months reporting delay. Therefore, trends should only be assessed using data through the year 2017 to allow sufficient time (at least 12 months) for reporting of case information to CDC to accurately assess trends.

Release date represents the date figures were accessed.