By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least 56,000 people becomeinfected with the AIDS virus every year in the United States --40 percent more than previous estimates, according to a reportfrom the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC stressed that actual infection rates have not risenbut said better methods of measuring new diagnosed infectionsand then extrapolating this to the general population led tothe fresh estimates.
"CDC's first estimates from this system reveal that the HIVepidemic is -- and has been -- worse than previously known.Results indicate that approximately 56,300 new HIV infectionsoccurred in the United States in 2006," the CDC said in astatement.
"This figure is roughly 40 percent higher than CDC's formerestimate of 40,000 infections per year, which was based onlimited data and less precise methods."
Globally, 33 million people are infected with the humanimmunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS and 2 million die of iteach year.
The CDC estimates roughly 1 million Americans are infectedwith the virus. Dr. Kevin Fenton, who heads CDC's AIDS branch,said 15,000 to 18,000 Americans die every year of AIDS.
"The data really confirm that there is a severe impact ofthis epidemic among gay and bisexual men in the United States... as well as black men and women," Fenton said in a telephoneinterview.
More than 28,000 of the new infections are among men whohave sex with men, the new estimates show. Close to 17,000 areamong heterosexuals -- and 15,000 of these are women.
"These data are confirming what we had known before,"Fenton said. "It also mirrors what we see about sexuallytransmitted diseases and changes in risk behaviour among menwho have sex with men."
RISKY SEX
Many recent studies have shown gay and bisexual men arehaving risky, unprotected sex more often than before, perhapsemboldened by the knowledge that the disease can be treated.
But AIDS remains incurable and is fatal if not treated.There is no vaccine and the drugs stop working if people do nottake them precisely as directed.
The numbers, published in the Journal of the AmericanMedical Association, also confirm that black Americans areseven times more likely to be infected than whites.
"The reality is that it is a wake-up call for all of us,"Fenton said. "There are things that you and I can do to stopthe disease -- encourage others to use condoms consistently andcorrectly, abstain from sex."
AIDS spreads rampantly in prisons, he added.
Communities need to provide better education and testingservices, Fenton said.
Fears of being stigmatized have stopped people from beingtested -- 25 percent of those infected do not know it and canpass along the virus.
But there was some comfort in the numbers.
"It is important to note that the new estimate does notrepresent an actual increase in the annual number of new HIVinfections," CDC said.
"In fact, CDC's analysis suggests that the epidemic hasbeen roughly stable since the late 1990s, though the number ofnew HIV infections remains unacceptably high," it said.
"The analysis shows that new infections peaked in themid-1980s at approximately 130,000 infections per year andreached a low of about 50,000 in the early 1990s."
Cocktails of HIV drugs can keep patients alive and healthybut not everyone gets them, Fenton said.
Too many Americans are diagnosed late, after the virus hasalready damaged the immune system beyond repair, he said.
(Editing by John O'Callaghan)