HIV diagnoses hit record low in New York

The number of new HIV diagnoses in New York has hit a record low after falling nearly 40 percent in the last decade, city authorities said Tuesday.

The city said 2,718 people were diagnosed with HIV in 2014 compared to 2,832 in 2013 and 4,397 in 2004, a decline of more than 38 percent.

In 2001, when records began, there were 5,862 new diagnoses.

At the height of the New York AIDS crisis there were more than 12,000 AIDS diagnoses in 1993, according to city data.

The new HIV diagnoses are predominantly men, black or Hispanic, young, men who have sex with other men or people living in poor areas.

To mark World AIDS Day on Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a $23 million plan towards stamping out the epidemic in New York and matching a statewide goal of 750 cases per year by 2020.

To date, more than 600,000 Americans have died from AIDS-related causes, including more than 100,000 New Yorkers, according to the New York City Aids Memorial.

© 2015 AFP