53% of the estimated 56,000 cases of new HIV infection in 2006 were among gay and bisexual men, and 46% of the infections occurred among blacks

Young black gay men, black women and white gay men in their 30s and 40s are much more likely to be newly infected with HIV than other groups in the United States, according to an analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The analysis -- based on figures showing that the HIV infection rate for 2006 is much worse than previously thought -- looks at the number of new HIV infections and who gets them. Within the gay and bisexual group, young black men (13 to 29 years old ) were roughly twice as likely to get infected as young white and young Hispanic men. And among women, black women were almost 15 times more likely to get HIV than white women and almost four times more likely than Hispanic women. White gay and bisexual men account for close to half, or 46%, of HIV incidence among gay and bisexual men, but the majority of new infections occurred in men in their 30s, followed by men in the 40s, the CDC found. African Americans overall accounted for 45% of new HIV infection in 2006, while representing only 12% of the U.S. population. While there were fewer new HIV infections among black women than there were among black men, black women were far more affected by HIV than women of other races.