20 Percent Of Urban Gay And Bisexual Men Have HIV

A government study found one in five sexually active urban gay and bisexual men is infected with HIV, and nearly half of those infected don’t know they have the disease.

Click here to see a copy of the study

The study is considered the largest to look at urban gay and bisexual men at high risk for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. More than 8,000 men in 21 U.S. cities were tested and interviewed.

Los Angeles and San Diego were the closest cities in the study.

Locally, the Coachella Valley has been known to have a high concentration of HIV-positive residents, up to four-times the national average, according to the Desert AIDS Project.

The new study echoed earlier research that found men who were black and had lower incomes were the most likely to be infected and to not know it.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the results Thursday. The study is being published in a CDC publication, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

For more information on how to get tested for HIV, contact the Desert AIDS Project or your personal doctor.