Milwaukee Personal Injury Attorney

AIDS in the U.S.

Since the early 1980s, AIDS and HIV have grown from an often-discussed topic that affected few to a global epidemic. In the United States, AIDS was first identified as a distinct condition in 1981, making the United States the first country to assign this status.

There are currently more than a million people in the United States who have been infected with HIV, the virus that precedes AIDS. Of these people, nearly a quarter (or 250,000) do not realize that they have been infected with AIDS. For this reason, there is a high risk of onward transmission. This makes getting tested for HIV very important.

Once a person is infected, he or she should exercise care to inform future partners of the risks of contracting HIV. An infected individual has a duty to future partners to ensure that they are aware of the risks of contracting HIV and take preventative measures.

As the disease affects all sectors of American society, anyone can be infected. Men, women, young and old, black and white, gay and straight, rich and poor are all at risk of contracting HIV and passing it on to others. The impact of AIDS, however, has affected some demographics more than others.

In the early years of the disease, the “vulnerable groups” were men who engaged in sex with other men, individuals who injected drugs, hemophiliacs who frequently received blood transfusions, and Haitians.

On a yearly basis, HIV infects thousands of homosexual and bisexual men, as well as injecting drug users. HIV is particularly a problem among heterosexual African Americans. Increasingly, the Latino population is being affected.

Contact a Milwaukee Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have contracted HIV or AIDS from an individual who failed to take care to prevent the transmission of the disease, contact a Milwaukee personal injury attorney at 1-800-242-7205.