9 1/2 Minutes HIV Awareness Campaign

Every 9 1/2 minutes (on average), someone in the United States is infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. CDC has launched a new Nine and a Half Minutes campaign to raise awareness of this fact and promote prevention.

Where did 9 1/2 minutes estimate come from?

In 2008, CDC developed new estimates for the annual number of HIV infections—which suggest that about 56,300 new HIV infections occur each year. This estimate is a national average. CDC arrived at the 9½ minutes figure by dividing the number of minutes in one year by the 56,300 new HIV infections that were estimated for 2006. This result indicates that, on average, one new HIV infection occurs every 9.34 minutes in a year. For more information on the 56,300 estimate visit the HIV Incidence section of the CDC HIV Web site.

CDC offers information on how you can prevent HIV, avoid the onset of AIDS if you have HIV, and spread the word about the 9 ½ minutes campaign.

They also provide this useful testing widget you can place on your Web site to find a testing site near you. Get yours here.