Deadly Mistake: Health Officials Say Many Young Texans View HIV as a Manageable Disease -- and That Makes Them Vulnerable

CDC reports that people under age 25 -- though they comprise just one-third of the US population -- account for about half of all new US HIV infections. "[Young people] see it as a chronic thing -- they think they can take a pill, so what's the big deal?" said Adele Webb, executive director of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. "The only person they know with it is Magic Johnson, and as far as they know he's doing fine."

Most HIV-positive young people acquired the infection sexually, CDC reports. While young gay white men still represent a significant number of patients, black people now account for more than half of the new infections. CDC epidemiologists continue to document cases of younger and younger patients.

Young adults are part of the reason Dallas is the number-one city in Texas for new HIV infections, said AIDS Arms Executive Director Raeline Nobles. In 2003, almost 30 percent of new HIV cases in Dallas County were ages 13-29, according to the county's Health and Human Services Department. However, local AIDS specialists estimate that closer to 45 percent of new cases are under age 25, and most are from poor neighborhoods.

Don Maison, president and CEO of AIDS Services of Dallas, noted that many young people feel invulnerable. In addition, today's young people have not experienced the AIDS-related deaths of friends, said Paul Scott, executive director of the Resource Center of Dallas.

Back to other news for July 23, 2004