AIDS and Poverty Linked in Study

More than 1.1 million people in the U.S. are infected with HIV, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study, which was presented at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna on Monday, also showed that poverty is the most important factor linked to HIV infection among inner-city heterosexuals. "In this country, HIV clearly strikes the economically disadvantaged in a devastating way," said CDC HIV/AIDS expert Kevin Fenton. The U.N. Joint Program on HIV/AIDS, also known as UNAIDS, defines epidemic as a prevalence in the general population of more than 1 percent. In poor American urban areas, 2.1 percent of heterosexuals are infected with AIDS, with approximately 56,000 new infections every year. These numbers do not include gay or bisexual people, sex workers, or IV drug users.