CDC: Blacks, gays most at risk for HIV

ATLANTA, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- A study of human immunodeficiency virus -- HIV -- infection in the United States suggests gays, bisexual men and blacks are most at risk of becoming infected.

Of the estimated 54,230 new infections among whites, blacks, and Hispanics in 2006, 46 percent of the infections occurred among blacks, 36 percent occurred among whites, and 18 percent occurred among Hispanics, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The majority of new cases occurred among gay and bisexual men. Among newly infected males, 81 percent of white men and 63 percent of black men were gay or bisexual, The New York Times reported. The report said 80 percent of women newly infected with the virus contracted HIV because of high-risk heterosexual contact.