HIV/Aids virus tileMore than 16,000 people in Tennessee live with HIV, and that number has climbed steadily, the Tennessee Department of Health said in a release Monday.
In 2009, roughly 14,000 Tennesseans had the virus. Since that year, an average of 871 additional Tennesseans has become infected every year. Approximately 820 new cases were diagnosed in 2013.
HIV attacks the body's immune system, causing a life-threatening illness known as AIDS. When a person has AIDS, the body's natural defense system loses its ability to fight infections.
The average annual AIDS death toll in Tennessee between 2009 and 2013 period was 294.
"The vast majority of deaths we see every year from AIDS could have been prevented," said Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Dr. John Dreyzehner.
HIV is spread primarily through unprotected sex with an infected person and sharing needles with an infected person. Over half of Tennessee's new cases in 2013 were transmitted through male-to-male sex, state data shows.
While there have been advances in AIDS treatment, there is still no cure for it.
Numerous medical offices statewide offer free or low-cost HIV testing, including Tennessee's county health department clinics. To find a testing location anywhere in the U.S., go to www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/prevention/hiv-testing/hiv-test-locations/.