BETHESDA, Md--As expected, the number of reported AIDS cases increased
substantially in 1993 due to the expansion of the surveillance
case definition in January of that year, but an adjusted analysis
shows only a slight overall increase.
This analysis showed a 1993 incidence increase of 3% (62,000 cases
in 1993 versus 60,000 in 1992). However, a slight decrease (1%)
was seen in homosexual/bisexual men, while the AIDS incidence
for intravenous drug users increased by 8%, and for heterosexuals
by 23% (MMWR 43:826-831, 1994).
Still, the number of persons infected through heterosexual contact
remains small (7,500 in 1993), compared with the number infected
through homosexual sex (30,300) or IV drug use (17,800).
The report also showed significant geographic differences in AIDS
incidence trends. Although the number of cases contracted through
heterosexual sex rose in all four regions of the country, the
increases varied widely, from 11% in the South to 39% in the Northeast.
The incidence among IV drug users increased in the Northeast,
where most lived when diagnosed, but remained stable in the South
and West. The number of homosexual cases decreased in the West
while remaining stable in the Northeast, South, and Midwest.