HIV mortality rates fell by half in 2010-2018, according to the CDC.

In 2017, more than 16,000 people died of HIV, and about 5,500 of those deaths were caused by HIV-related causes, with the virus plaguing the top 10 causes of death in some groups.

“There is still work to be done,” said Karin Bosch, CDC epidemiologist who led the study.

The earlier the diagnosis, the sooner people can receive continuous care and treatment and suppress the virus in their body, Dr. Bosch said. For example, the proportion of young people dying from HIV is higher than that of the elderly because young people have less access to continued health care because they do not have health insurance or because they do not receive regular care.

“This is relevant because HIV deaths are preventable,” Dr. Bosch said.

Other experts said the lack of improvement in deaths from other causes is of particular concern to women and substance users.

Dr. Elaine Scully, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University, said: “It’s about public health – mobilization and community involvement. “There is no such thing as an epidemic among women in the United States.”

Unlike homosexuals, he said, HIV-infected women are “from different backgrounds” and are often disconnected from support networks. “We still have a lot of work to do to build trust and bring minority women in particular into the health care system in ways that they feel safe and supportive of.”

Race played a major role in HIV deaths, with high rates among black people or among many races.

Dr.