Hispanics In U.S. Contract HIV Through Different Transmission Routes Based On Birthplace, MMWR Study Says

“HIV-positive Hispanics living in the U.S. contract the virus through different transmission routes primarily based on where they were born, according to a study published Thursday in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Reuters reports.

According to the study, male-to-male sexual contact was the transmission route for 65% of HIV cases among Hispanic men who were born in South America, 62% of cases among men born in Cuba, 54% of cases among men born in Mexico and 46% of cases among men born in the U.S. About 28% of HIV-positive Hispanics who were born in the U.S. contracted the virus through high-risk heterosexual sex, compared with 47% who were born in the Dominican Republic and 45% who were born in Central America, the study found. In addition, 33% of Hispanics living with HIV who were born in Puerto Rico contracted the virus through injection drug use, compared with 22% who were born in the U.S. The study found less knowledge about HIV/AIDS among injection drug users born in Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico than among IDUs born in the U.S.”*

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