HIV transmission among black college student and non-student men who have sex with men--North Carolina, 2003

Abstract

In the United States, young black men who have sex with men (MSM) and reside in urban settings have high rates of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), with incidence and prevalence as high as 14% and 32%, respectively. Few epidemiologic and behavioral studies have been conducted in this population, and even fewer data are available for black MSM from non-urban areas of the southern United States. In November 2002, the North Carolina Department of Health (NCDOH) identified two cases of acute HIV infection among non-Hispanic black male college students. A retrospective review of all men aged 18-30 years with HIV diagnosed during January 2000-May 2003 indicated an increase in HIV case reports in male college students, from two cases in 2000 to 56 during January 2001-May 2003. Of these 56, a total of 49 (88%) were black, and nearly all were MSM, including some men who had sex with both men and women. In August 2003, NCDOH invited CDC to assist with an epidemiologic investigation of young HIV-positive black MSM in North Carolina. This report summarizes the results of that investigation, which indicated that black MSM college students and non-students in North Carolina had high rates of HIV risk behaviors, underscoring the need for enhanced HIV-prevention programs in these populations.