1 million Americans are living with HIV

ATLANTA – The United States has reached an AIDS milestone – for the first time since the height of the epidemic in the 1980s, 1 million people are living with HIV.

In part, it’s a testament to the powerful medicines that are keeping so many people alive.

But U.S. health officials face problems similar to ones in the early days of the epidemic, including a new generation of Americans who engage in risky unprotected sex and the inability of government to curb the spread of the virus.

Health officials say HIV and sexually transmitted diseases have spread recently through outbreaks in major cities as many gay and bisexual men have let down their guard after years of hearing safe-sex messages.