HIV Infection in Illinois

About one-quarter – or 10,000 – of the 40,000 HIV+ Illinois residents do not know they are HIV+, according to state health experts. Learn more about Illinois HIV/AIDS epidemiology.

Unaware of their HIV infection, undiagnosed individuals spread HIV to others through unprotected sex, intravenous drug use, or other ways, causing 75 percent of new HIV cases. Undiagnosed individuals also do not receive the benefit of medical treatments that can slow the progression of HIV infection into AIDS or other illnesses.

Illinois has the nation's eighth highest cumulative number of AIDS cases, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (www.statehealthfacts.org), with more than 37,000 reported cases and 20,000 deaths since 1981, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health HIV/AIDS Surveillance Unit and Reporting System. The department also estimates there have been about 16,000 additional reported non-AIDS HIV cases, and that more than 8,300 HIV-positive Illinois residents do not know they are HIV-positive.

Due to the high percentage of HIV+ individuals who remain undiagnosed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all individuals age 13-64 be tested for HIV infection. Those wishing not to be tested can choose to decline or “opt-out.”

The state of Illinois has adopted the CDC’s recommendation as law. As a result, the Illinois Department of Public Health expects increased numbers of individuals to be diagnosed as HIV+.

Once these individuals are diagnosed, Illinois HIV Care Connect helps them to find the health care and support services they need to achieve optimal health and self-sufficiency. Due to the high prevalence of HIV infection among the prison population, where HIV infection is five times higher than it is in the general population, HIV Care Connect is making a special effort to reach prisoners and parolees through corrections and parole officials.

Illinois HIV Care Connect hopes to build upon other statewide HIV programs recognized for their efforts to reduce HIV infection. For example, the CDC recognized the Illinois Perinatal HIV Prevention Act, which requires Illinois providers to conduct prenatal HIV testing of pregnant women, as well as newborn HIV testing. If tested positive for HIV within 24 hours after birth, newborns are given antiretroviral medication for up to six weeks; this medication has decreased newborn HIV infection in Illinois by 99 percent. A role model for other states wishing to reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission, Illinois is one of only three states to provide this safety net.