Infected and unaware: HIV attack America’s youth


More than half of immature people in a United States who are putrescent with HIV are not wakeful of it, according to a news by supervision health officials that zeroes in on one of a remaining prohibited spots of HIV infection in America.

Young people ages 13 to 24 comment for 26 percent of all new HIV infections, according to a news by a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that was expelled on Tuesday in allege of World AIDS Day on Dec 1.

“Given all we know about HIV and how to forestall it in 30 years of fighting a disease, it’s usually unsuitable that immature people are apropos putrescent during such high rates,” CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden pronounced on a discussion call with reporters.

Every month, 1,000 immature people in America turn putrescent with HIV, an incorrigible infection that costs $400,000 to provide over a lifetime, Frieden said. If left untreated, HIV infection leads to AIDS and early death.

“The information are sheer and worrying,” Dr. Kevin Fenton, executive of a National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention during a CDC, pronounced in a write interview.

In 2010, 72 percent of a estimated 12,000 new HIV infections in immature people occurred in immature organisation who have sex with men, and scarcely half of new infections were among young, black males.

“We are quite endangered about what is function with HIV among immature black happy and bisexual men,” Fenton said. “They comment for 39 percent of all new infections among girl and some-more than half of new infections among immature organisation who have sex with men.”

Fenton pronounced a suit of immature people putrescent with HIV has remained comparatively fast during a final few years, though infection rates seem to be augmenting in these populations.

And since many of a newly putrescent happy or bisexual males are usually commencement to try their sexuality, tarnish and homophobia are creation HIV contrast and diagnosis distant some-more challenging.

Although a CDC and a American Academy of Pediatrics suggest slight screening for HIV starting in a early teens, “too few immature people are removing tested,” Frieden said.

Only 13 percent of all high propagandize students and usually 22 percent of intimately active high propagandize students have ever been tested for HIV, a CDC found.

The total for immature adults aged 18 to 24 are not most better, with usually 35 percent of people in this age organisation stating ever carrying been tested for HIV.

Frieden pronounced one reason for a aloft rates of infection among immature happy and bisexual organisation of all races was a aloft rate of unsure behaviors compared with their heterosexual peers.

According to a report, a vast research of risk behaviors among high propagandize students suggested that happy and bisexual males are most some-more expected to have mixed sex partners, to inject bootleg drugs and to use ethanol or drugs before sex. They are most reduction expected to use condoms.

And since so few get tested, HIV-infected people underneath age 25 are significantly reduction expected than those who are comparison to get and stay in care, and to have their pathogen tranquil during a turn that helps them stay healthy and revoke their risk of transmitting HIV to partners.

The CDC also found that many immature organisation who have sex with organisation are reduction expected than others to have been taught about HIV or AIDS in school.

“We have to scold a lot of misconceptions and misconceptions,” Frieden said. “It is startling a turn of stupidity about simple physiology that might high propagandize and center propagandize students have.”

To residence some of a issues, a CDC is appropriation a module that targets both at-risk youths and a homophobia and tarnish in a village that drives them underground.

In September, Georgia, a state where new HIV infections among those 13 to 24 years aged surpass a inhabitant normal – accounting for as many as one-third of all new HIV infections – won a extend as partial of a commander plan to find improved ways of targeting these at-risk youth.

“We consider that it’s unequivocally vicious that a discussions we have about HIV impediment and entrance to HIV turn entirely integrated into a amicable fabric of a girl culture,” Dr. Melanie Thompson, of a Georgia Department of Public Health, pronounced in a write interview.

Care and Prevention in a United States, famous as CAPUS, is a three-year module led by a CDC and other supervision agencies directed during shortening HIV and AIDS among secular and racial minorities in a United States. It focuses on addressing social, economic, clinical and constructional factors conversion HIV health outcomes.

“It is a outrageous challenge,” pronounced Thompson, “but we consider if we do this from a indicate of perspective of perplexing to finish an widespread that is decimating the immature people, and do it in a approach that is science-based, we consider we can make progress.”

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