More than 150,000 Americans with HIV remain unaware of infection, while PrEP uptake represents fraction of need

With an ambitious, but yet to be funded federal plan to end the American HIV epidemic within the next 10 years in front of Congress, about 14% of people living with the virus have yet to be diagnosed, just 18% of people at substantial risk of becoming infected are accessing the proven preventive drug that is a "pillar" -- or targeted intervention -- of the plan, and a drop in new HIV infections noted in 2013 has stalled, with a continued estimated 38,000 people getting the virus each year, according to data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today. Of those who have been diagnosed with HIV, 37% are not accessing consistent, effective treatment, the report released today says. The Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America seeks to stop transmissions of HIV in the United States by 2030 through a plan to ensure that 95 percent of people with HIV are tested and accessing treatment to control the virus and that people at higher risk of infection are accessing a pre-exposure prophylactic drug -- PrEP -- that offers proven protection from infection. A fourth major part of the plan, not measured in the data released today, will seek to swiftly identify and respond to clusters of local HIV outbreaks.