In Brief: Maryland Teens

Health officials in Carroll County, Md., are launching a new campaign to combat the doubling in AIDS cases they have seen over the last three years. The campaign will educate young people and encourage them to get tested for HIV and to get early treatment. Services will include free and confidential testing, billboard and radio advertising, as well as flyer distribution to targeted communities. A federal grant targeting high-risk women and youth is funding the program. Recent rises in drug use and sexual activity among younger teens have contributed to the rise in infection rates, say county officials. In addition, use of non-heroin narcotics had doubled among the county's recent high school graduates to 7.3 percent, said last year's Maryland Adolescent Survey. About half of the country's new 40,000 HIV infections every year occur in people ages 13 to 19, according to data from the CDC.

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