CDC: More have HIV as treatment prolongs lives

ATLANTA — New government statistics show about 1.1 million Americans were living with the AIDS virus in 2008, an increase of about 71,000 from 2006.

An increase was expected because people with HIV are living longer and healthier lives thanks to treatment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the numbers Thursday in a publication called Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

More than half of new HIV infections are in gay and bisexual men. The CDC released a second study, of gay and bisexual men in 21 U.S. cities, that found 61 percent said they were tested for HIV in the previous year. Seven percent were found to be newly infected. Other studies say that overall, about 10 percent to 20 percent of U.S. adults are tested annually.