HIV-Infection Rate Is Holding Steady

Despite a historic drop in AIDS cases and deaths in the U.S. in the last few years, the rate at which people are becoming infected with HIV has held relatively steady, the government said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said that many people are not heeding warnings about unsafe sex and drug use. Using statistics from the 25 states that report infection rates, the CDC estimated a 2% decline from 1995 to 1996 in the number of new HIV cases diagnosed among people 13 or older. AIDS deaths dropped 21% in 1996, while the number of people with AIDS dropped 6%, according to figures previously released by the CDC. AIDS deaths were down an additional 44% in the first half of 1997.