According to the recently published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, approximately one in five (19 percent) men who have sex with men (MSM) in a study of 21 major U.S. cities is infected with HIV and nearly half (44 percent) of those men are unaware that they are infected with HIV.
Kevin Fenton, M.D., director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, said in a statement:
"This study's message is clear: HIV exacts a devastating toll on men who have sex with men in America's major cities, and yet far too many of those who are infected don't know it. We need to increase access to HIV testing so that more MSM know their status, and we all must bring new energy, new approaches, and new champions to the fight against HIV among men who have sex with men."
MSM are listed among a few priority populations that the US government is focusing its HIV prevention efforts on.