A study involving Atlanta and five other U.S. cities shows that young black men who are gay or bisexual have greatly elevated HIV infection rates.

Researchers found that the overall rate of new HIV infections among black men having sex with men was 2.3 percent per year, nearly 50 percent higher than the rate for white men who are gay or bisexual.

The results, released last week at the International Conference on AIDS, also found that black gay and bisexual men 30 years old and younger acquired HIV infection at a rate of 5.9 percent per year, three times the rate among U.S. white gay or bisexual men of the same age bracket.

Emory University recruited nearly 300 black men for the study.

Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is the virus that causes AIDS. Georgia has among the highest HIV infection rates in the country.

Another Emory study of gay and bisexual men living in Atlanta reported the HIV interim incidence of 6.4 percent among Atlanta black gay and bisexual men.

In this GHN video interview, Paula Frew, an Emory assistant professor of medicine, discusses the findings of both studies, the possible reasons for these health disparities, and the interventions that can help reduce the HIV transmission rates.

The video is courtesy of Emory University.

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