Epidemiology is a rather crude science of counting and estimation.
And sometimes epidemiology offers road maps and landmarks with which to gauge how each of us fits within the large living quilt of HIV worldwide. New AIDS Cases and AIDS Deaths Are Down Nationwide and in L.A . This is the first time there has been such a decline in reported cases and deaths on a national basis since the epidemic began. The drops occurred in women as well as men, and in all racial and ethnic groups, though the decreases were highest in white men, especially gay and bisexual men. The decreases for Los Angeles County are even more dramatic than for the nation as a whole.