I figure you all are better to ask than google. 

 

Why are the HIV rates so much higher in the US than the UK? 

 

(as referenced in Malcom Needs power point presentation on Transfusion Microbiology)

 

nlow prevalence rate of viral infections in UK compared with other countries, e.g. USA."

 

 

Having lived in both countries I thought their culture and medical systems to be quite similar. 

 

And I find it interesting that because of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) I cannot donate blood in the US because of living in England between certain dates, yet there is obviously no exclusion for the English to donate blood due to residence. 

 

Are the Americans being over cautious?  Is transmission of CJD in the UK ever seen? 

The population of the USA is much greater than the UK, so that is an educated guess as to why the population of HIV is greater than the US.

I must remind you that those lectures are now quite old and need an update.

 

There is now pretty firm evidence that there has been human to human transmission of _vCJD via a transfusion.

My speculation as to why HIV rates may be higher in one area than another: (1) differences in the rate of at-risk behaviour and (2) random establishment of pockets of infection. Assuming (1) is similar in the US and UK, then perhaps (2) comes into play. There's really no reason Ebola couldn't have established itself in other populous cities like Abidjan, Dakar, Casablanca, Accra or Lagos - except that (thank god) it didn't.