HIV/AIDS

OVERVIEW

Gonorrhea is a curable sexually transmitted infection (STI). It is the second most commonly reported bacterial STI in the United States following chlamydia. In 2004, 330,132 cases of gonorrhea were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). When examining race and ethnicity, age, and gender, the highest rates of gonorrhea were found in African Americans, 15 to 24 years of age, and women, respectively.

TB AND HIV INFECTION

WHO estimates 11.4 million people worldwide are infected with both M. tuberculosis and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS [acquired immunodeficiency disease]). The primary cause of death in those infected with body microbes is from TB, not AIDS. In the United States, health experts estimate about two out of ten people who have TB are also infected with HIV.

A new analysis of CDC surveillance data from 33 states with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting shows HIV remains a persistent threat to the health and well-being of African Americans.

Important groundbreaking scientific research at Florida State University has produced three-dimensional images of the HIV/AIDS virus, showing protein spikes on its surface that allow it to bind and fuse with human immune cells.