New HIV cases in Minnesota dipped slightly last year, but state health officials said they were troubled by sharp increases within several subgroups — young adults, minorities and intravenous drug users.
The state recorded 294 new HIV and AIDS cases last year, down from 306 in 2014, according to an annual surveillance report issued Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Health.
Although HIV cases have hovered at about 300 new infections each year since 2000, health officials said they are alarmed by the uptick within certain populations.
"We are seeing higher HIV infection rates in communities with limited access to HIV testing and prevention programs due to long-standing social, medical or income disadvantages," said Health Commissioner Dr. Ed Ehlinger in a statement.
New cases among Minnesotans age 20 to 29 increased by 24 percent in 2015, the department said. Infections among intravenous drug users jumped 86 percent — with 26 new cases in 2015 — most often among white, non-Hispanic males under age 40.
The majority of cases overall occurred in the Twin Cities area, and they included sharply higher rates within communities of color and men who have sex with men. Men who have sex with men have been the most common risk factor in sexual transmission of HIV, accounting for roughly half of all new cases last year.
People of color also continue to be disproportionately affected, according to the report. Some 58 percent of newly reported HIV cases were among people of color, with African-born women accounting for more than half of the new cases for females.
The rise in HIV among intravenous drug users may reflect the recent increase in heroin use across Minnesota, but state officials can't be certain, said Krissie Guerard, the Health Department's HIV/STD section manager. The department uses U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracking methods, which ask whether the person uses intravenous drugs, but not their drug of choice.
