About AIDS

New research indicates that both teens and adults continue to engage in risky activities even after learning they are HIV-positive. University of Washington researchers reviewed data for over 3,000 HIV-infected youths and adults from Seattle in an effort to examine and compare the risk behaviors of the two groups. The results show that both the youths and the adults continued risky activities. However, the teens, both female and male, were more than twice as likely as adults to have unprotected sex or share drug needles.

This study is not unique; it just confirms earlier findings which also demonstrate the need for public health efforts targeting HIV-infected people, as well as those at risk for infection. Most prevention campaigns of the past 18 years have emphasized choosing safe behaviors to avoid becoming infected. It's clear, however, that the message to HIV-poz people needs to be firmly emphasized: It is also your responsibility to look out for welfare of any partners. Only with joint responsibility can we hope to end this epidemic. (For details see American Journal of Public Health [Jan 2000] Vol. 90, No. 1, p. 115)