According to a new study released by the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the positive HIV status among the young black gay men has been rising at a rate of 12 percent each year since 2001. The annual increase rate, at 15 percent, was even higher among the African-American gay men aged between 13 to 24.

An epidemiologist and professor of public health at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Ronald Stall says, "Its clear from the report that half of the American AIDS epedemic is occuring among a few percent of the adult population."

According to Phil Wilson, head of the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles, "The figures clearly indicate that it's and epidemic out of control and no concrete steps have been taken to prevent the spread of the infection."

Sex among men accounted for more than 97,000 new diagnosis over the six years, while on the other hand the diagnosis attributed to high-risk heterosexual contact and injection-drug use, declined annually by 4.4 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively, according to the C.D.C. report.

The increase in the infection rates are also attributed to the lack of access to information. Because of the strong new treatments, some men believe that it's a less severe disease than it was once.

"If you talk to some of these young men, they say, 'If I do get the infection, I will simply take the blue pill or the pink pill, like my friend," Ron Simmons said.