The virus that causes AIDS pandemic is extending in New York City at three times the national rate, according to estimates released Wednesday by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Using a new statistical method developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health officials estimated that 72 out of every 100,000 New York inhabitants became infected with HIV in 2006, more than triple the rate of 23 per 100,000 people in America. On the whole, 4,800 people living in the state contracted HIV that year, 3,863 residents of the New York City counting among them.

The alarming infection rates are blamed on the city's large number of gay men and blacks.

The model, designed to track recent infections and based on new and better blood tests, allows people to know when they become infected with the AIDS virus, not just when the diagnosis is put.

In order to reach these results, researchers took into consideration the number of new HIV diagnoses put in 2006 and used a laboratory test so as to differentiate recent infections from long-standing ones. Afterward, by means of employing a new formula developed by the CDC, the Department of Health estimated the total number of recent infections, among individuals who were checked and those who weren’t. They calculated the total cases of infections for the New York City as a whole by mixing the two estimations.

However, it was emphasized that, attributable to the fact that the technique of estimating HIV infections was innovative, one can not know if the cases of new infections found in the New York City have risen or dropped, comparing to the situation reported in the previous years.

The report also showed that African American men living in the state of New York, particularly those engaging in sexual activity with other men, were more likely to become infected with the virus than people representing other segments of population.

Perry Halkitis, a professor of applied psychology and public health at New York University, is involved in finding new methods of preventing young gay men becoming infected with HIV. He said that the department’s estimates suggest that “somewhere along the line, we didn't fully address the needs of this group of young men."

According to Samantha Taylor, the managing director of social responsibility at the Gay Men's Health Crisis, "these prevention problems have to go another step deeper into the underlying factors in prevention and treatment." Furthermore, she expressed her concern about the $5 million drop in funds allocated to HIV/AIDS programs and services New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council approved this year.

Other data disclosed by the report says that, of the newly infected people, about 45% of them were African Americans; 32%, Hispanics and 21% white. Moreover, 4% of the new cases of infections were reported in people under age 20; 24% of the newly infected were 20 to 29 years old; 29%, 30 to 39 years old, also 29%, those 40 to 49 years old, and those 50 and older made up 15%.