Health News Illinois reported: New HIV and AIDS diagnoses in Chicago last year fell to levels not seen in over 30 years, the city’s Department of Public Health said Thursday.

Chicago recorded 504 new HIV diagnoses and 236 new AIDS diagnoses last year, according to provisional data. If those numbers stand, it is a 38 percent drop in new HIV diagnoses and a 22 percent decline in new AIDS diagnoses compared to the previous year.

CDPH said the new HIV diagnoses are the lowest since the agency first began recording them in the early 1990s, and the lowest number of new AIDS diagnoses since the mid-1980s.

"This data, while provisional, is very heartening," CDPH Commissioner Dr. Garth Walker said in a statement. “It reflects the ongoing work CDPH does with our community and healthcare partners to get Chicagoans tested, connected to care, and engaged in HIV prevention. With health equity as our guiding star, the trends are promising.”

Black Chicagoans made up 46 percent of new HIV cases, while Hispanic Chicagoans made up 34 percent of new cases.

Thursday’s numbers show a continued downward trend in new cases post-pandemic. Since 2020, new HIV diagnoses have fallen 22 percent, and new AIDS diagnoses have dropped 12 percent.

Final 2025 data will be published in the agency’s surveillance report in December.

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