GREENSBORO, N.C. — According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80% of new HIV infections are transmitted by those who don't know they have the virus. It's part of a new set of data from the CDC.
They also found that there's about 39,000 new HIV infections every year and more than 50% of those happen in southern states where access to prevention and treatment is limited.
Over a million people are estimated to have the HIV virus and about 165,000 don't know they have it.
The latest federal initiative seeks to reduce the number of new infections by at least 90% over the next 10 years. They're recommending that everyone in the country gets tested for HIV at least once and those at increased risk get tested more frequently.
OTHER STORIES TO CHECK OUT
Related:World AIDS Day 2018: 30 Questions About HIV/AIDS Answered