AIDS awareness on the decline

Researchers in South Africa have developed and tested a vaginal gel that shows promise in preventing HIV. Women who used the gel were 39 percent less likely overall to contract HIV than those who used a placebo. The news is exciting, but it will likely be years before the product is available. In the meantime, education is our biggest tool to prevent HIV and AIDS. Yet AIDS awareness appears to be declining.

In 2009, 13 percent of students reported never having been taught about AIDS or HIV in school. This number is up from 10.5 percent in 2007, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A decline in AIDS awareness is concerning given the following U.S. statistics:

More than 1 million people are now living with HIV/AIDSOver 56,000 people become infected each yearIn 2006, persons aged 13 to 29 were most affected, accounting for 34 percent of  infectionsMen who have sex with men account for 53 percent of new cases

Despite the severe impact of HIV in the United States, studies show that many Americans — even those at greatest risk of infection — have grown complacent about HIV and AIDS. This is a major concern since lack of AIDS awareness can contribute to an increase in high-risk behaviors. We can't forget to discuss this difficult and complicated disease with our youth. HIV is preventable in most cases. The importance of condoms cannot be stressed enough.

blog index References Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/yrbs/index.htm. Accessed Sept. 7, 2010.HIV in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/us.htm. Accessed Sept. 7, 2010. Anti-HIV Gel Shows Promise in Large-scale Study in Women. National Institutes of Health. http://www.nih.gov/news/health/feb2009/niaid-09.htm. Accessed Sept. 7, 2010.Estimates of new HIV infections in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/factsheets/pdf/incidence.pdf. Accessed Sept. 7, 2010.Projecting possible future courses of the HIV epidemic in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/us-epi-future-courses.htm. Accessed Sept. 7, 2010.