The number of people being infected with HIV virus in the US is about 40 percent higher than previously estimated, according to a report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on the eve of the international AIDS conference in Mexico City which began today.

“The epidemic is — and has been — worse than was previously known. The fact that 56,000 Americans each year are contracting HIV for the first time is a wake-up call for all of us in the U.S.,” Kevin Fenton, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for HIV/AIDS said.

It is ironic considering the fact that the Bush administration has spent about $19 billion overseas in the past five year to combat AIDS. Moreover, last week the White House signed a $48 billion global AIDS bill to continue a program that was called “the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in human history.” The program, called the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), is currently helping millions of people outside the US’s frontiers with drugs and preventive measures.

The situation is more ironic as the number of people dying from AIDS has decreased overseas since its peak in the late 1990s partly because of increased access to treatment, according to another report of the United Nations released three days ago.

Given the situation anyone would expect that the US has the HIV infections under control or even decreasing when in fact it is the opposite. In fact, the Black AIDS Institute was first to trigger this alarm sign when unveiling its report this week in which it compared HIV rates among black people in the US with those from countries such as South Africa, Haiti and Tanzania.

The conclusion was again negative. More exactly, if Black America existed outside the borders of the US, it would be a prime candidate for US aid in the fight with AIDS: their nation would rank 16th in people living with HIV, 105th in life expectancy and 88th in infant mortality worldwide. It was a reason for which the Bush administration was sharply criticized by the Black AIDS Institute which called the support of the US towards the black population as “lethargic” and “neglectful.”

Therefore, it is no wonder that the US rates of HIV infections are higher than previously believed. The CDC report showed that in 2006, an estimated 56,300 new HIV infections occurred, a number much higher than the previous estimate of 40,000 new annual infections.

Is it really the number raising or is it the new methodology and technology used by the CDC to count the HIV infections the reason behind this statistics that is still a mystery and remains to be solved. The new formula combined the blood test with statistical back-calculation that estimate the rate of the virus’ spread since it was first detected in the US. Previous estimates were based on counts of patients newly diagnosed with the virus, a misleading procedure especially because people newly infected with the virus do not show symptoms immediately. It could take years until an infected person could be diagnosed with the disease, a situation that makes that person’s immune system weaker and more predisposed to other infections or even cancers.

As expected, the most affected people were gay and bisexual men confirming earlier reports in which health officials warned about the increased HIV rate due to risky behaviors. About 1.2 million people in the US are living with HIV and more than 15,000 Americans die of AIDS each year, both numbers likely to be revised in the wake of the new estimate.

“The new estimates are quite staggering. It's only going to get worse if we don't match what we're seeing with funding and evidence-based prevention programs. Otherwise, we're going to lose the battle,” Mark Cloutier, chief executive officer of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, which provides services in the Bay Area, said.

The CDC report will be published in the August 6 issue of The Journal of the American Medication Association.