According to the Arizona Department of Health Services HIV/AIDS Integrated Epidemiologic Profile, the annual number of deaths among persons with AIDS in the state declined from 1996. Between 1999 and 2012, the number of deaths among persons with HIV or AIDS has decreased steadily from the most recent peak of 230 in 2004, to 156 in 2012.
Experts attribute the decrease to the introduction of multidrug treatment.
As of December 2012, 15,798 people reported to be living with HIV/AIDS in Arizona with 8,039 AIDS cases and 7,759 HIV cases. By county, Maricopa has the largest number of cases with 10, 879 followed by Pima and Pinal counties.
The impact of AIDS is felt most disproportionately among African Americans in Arizona. African Americans comprise 4.6% of the total population; yet they represent 12% of combined HIV and AIDS prevalence from 2009 to 2012. Men accounted for 85% of HIV cases and 88% of AIDS cases. The majority of cases occurred in persons aged 20 to 44 years which accounted for 76% of HIV cases and 59% of AIDS cases. Men who have sex with men (MSM) continues to be the predominant reported transmission risk in Arizona at 62% of all newly diagnosed cases of HIV.
Arizona began tracking HIV/AIDS cases when they first appeared in Arizona in 1981. From 1981-2012, 20,150 cases of HIV infection have been reported to Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) among Arizona’s residents. Of these:
13,336 (66%) were emergent HIV.
6,814 (34%) were emergent AIDS.
6,105 HIV cases were later re-diagnosed with AIDS.