Sobering news came from the CDC Tuesday: According to a major new study that covers all 50 states and DC, about 1 in 2 black and 1 in 4 Latino men who have sex with men are projected to be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime if current trends hold. As a comparison, the study found that white MSM face odds of 1 in 11, while members of the MSM community as a whole are looking at a 1 in 6 chance.

The new study, which used diagnoses and death rates from 2009-13 to extrapolate into the future, also looked at geography and found that individuals living in the South encounter more risk than those in other regions of the country. Washington, D.C., saw the highest rate at a 1 in 13 chance of an HIV-positive diagnosis.

That’s a lot of numbers, but the takeaway is this: Black and Latino MSM, in facing a risk of HIV infection that’s wildly disproportionate to other populations, are embroiled in a genuine public health emergency. Of course, this won’t come as news to advocates already working on HIV/AIDS among those groups; but it reiterates the need for education, community-specific messaging, and, above all, access to prevention tools in the effort to stem the tide. Read more via Slate