County Executive Innamorato Announces Allegheny County Records Fewest New HIV Diagnoses in History
Type: Press Release
Focus Area: HIV/AIDS
Major milestone reflects sustained community action, expanded prevention, and advances in HIV science
PITTSBURGH, PA — Allegheny County has recorded the lowest number of new HIV diagnoses since HIV surveillance began. This marks a significant milestone in the community’s decades-long effort to end the HIV epidemic.
According to newly released surveillance data from the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD), 53 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in 2025, the fewest annual diagnoses on record. The total represents a 32% decrease from 2024 and a 54% decrease since 2016.
The historic decline reflects more than a decade of coordinated work among public health agencies, healthcare providers, community organizations, advocates, researchers, and people living with HIV. This record reflects major advances in HIV prevention and treatment, including increased access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), improved HIV testing and linkage to care. Data-driven scientific advancements have led to highly effective treatments that allow people living with HIV to live longer, healthier lives and prevent sexual transmission of HIV when the virus is undetectable.
“This is an extraordinary public health achievement, and it is important that we recognize what these numbers tell us: public health investments work,” said Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato. “But this progress also reminds us that ending HIV requires sustained commitment. We have to protect and build upon the infrastructure, partnerships and trust that made this possible.”
Data from the Allegheny County Health Department dashboard.
Since 2015, AIDS Free Pittsburgh (AFP), a regional collaborative public health initiative managed by the Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF), has served as the backbone organization for a regional collective impact initiative bringing together more than 50 partners, including ACHD, UPMC, Allegheny Health Network, community-based organizations and advocates. Together, partners have worked to align HIV prevention, testing, treatment, education and outreach efforts.
Through this coordinated approach, Allegheny County became just the second county in the United States to commit to ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.
“This milestone belongs to the entire community,” said Richard Smith, MSW, Vice President of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation. “The organizations delivering care, the public health professionals coordinating these efforts, and the individuals who sought testing, prevention and treatment all contributed to this historic achievement. Never in my lifetime did I think we would see these numbers.”
Over the past decade, AFP and its partners have expanded HIV testing, increased awareness and access to PrEP, strengthened rapid linkage to care, and worked to reduce stigma surrounding HIV prevention and treatment. AFP estimates that PrEP use has increased by approximately 400% since the initiative began, while recent surveys indicate high levels of community awareness of this highly effective HIV prevention strategy.
“The science and tools exist to end the HIV epidemic,” said Sarah McBeth, MD, MPH, Clinical Director at UPMC Pittsburgh Area Center for Treatment and Medical Director at Allies for Health + Well Being. “We have made tremendous progress because people have had greater access to prevention, testing, treatment and care. Our challenge now is making sure those tools reach every person who can benefit from them, particularly people and communities who continue to experience barriers to care.”
While the decline in new diagnoses is cause for celebration, HIV remains a public health concern in Allegheny County. Black individuals are 10 times more likely than white individuals in receiving a HIV diagnosis, heterosexual contact accounted for 23% of cases in 2025 while men who have sex with men accounts for most new diagnoses.
The continued decline in diagnoses should not be interpreted as a signal that HIV prevention and care efforts can be reduced. Rather, the milestone demonstrates the impact of sustained investment and coordinated public health action.
Maintaining this momentum will require continued access to HIV prevention medications, routine testing, rapid linkage to treatment and care, supportive services, public health surveillance, community education and efforts to address stigma and other barriers that can prevent people from accessing care.
“This success is the result of years of sustained investment and hard work, and it will be lost if we stop now,” said Dr. Jillian Irwin, Allegheny County Health Department’s Medical Director and Deputy Director for Clinical Services. “We must seize this moment of progress to accelerate our efforts toward zero new HIV transmissions.”
To support continued community awareness and data-informed action, ACHD launched the Allegheny County HIV and STI Dashboard, an interactive dashboard to provide residents, healthcare providers, community organizations, researchers and policymakers with information to better understand local trends and identify where continued efforts are needed.
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The Allegheny County Health Department's mission is to protect, promote, and preserve the health and well-being of the more than 1.2 million people who call Allegheny County home.
The Jewish Healthcare Foundation is a public charity dedicated to improving health and health care through innovation, collaboration, education, research, and advocacy. Since 1990, JHF has worked with healthcare providers, policymakers, educators, researchers, and community organizations to develop and advance solutions that improve health outcomes and quality of life.
AIDS Free Pittsburgh is a public health movement to end the HIV epidemic in Allegheny County by 2030. AIDS Free Pittsburgh is a collaborative initiative compromised of government agencies, healthcare institutions, and community-based organizations that strive to support and improve the care of people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as communities most at-risk for HIV by raising awareness and building collaboration among stakeholders.
