By now, many people have probably heard that HIV infection rates in the Black community are pretty high compared to other races. The extent of the disparity, though, is sobering.

Out of about 1.1 million people in the United States living with HIV or AIDS, more than 500,000 of them are Black, according to recent numbers from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

See more facts below from the Centers for Disease Control Web site:

·         Blacks, who are only 12 percent of the population, account for nearly half (46 percent) of people living with HIV in the United States.

·         Blacks also account for 45 percent of new HIV infections each year

·         The rate of new HIV infections for Black men is about six times as high as that of White men

·         The HIV incidence rate for Black women is about 15 times as high as that of White women.

·         At some point during their lives, one in 16 Black men and one in 30 Black women will be diagnosed with HIV.

More facts from Kaiser Family Foundation:

·         Black women accounted for a majority of new HIV cases (61 percent) in 2006 and of new AIDS cases (65 percent) in 2008 among women

·         Black teens, only 15 percent of the population, accounted for 68 percent of new AIDS cases among teens in 2007.

·         D.C. has the highest AIDS diagnosis rate in the country for Blacks.

·         HIV death rates are the highest amongst Blacks.

·         In 2006, HIV was the fourth leading cause of death for Black men and the third for Black women ages 25-44.