With the World AIDS Day fast approaching, alarming results have been projected by various health reports across different regions of the globe. A recent report published only point out to the increasing rates of incidence of HIV/AIDS among youth, more specifically in young girls in the United States. If such a trend were allowed to continue, preventing the disease would pose a significant challenge rather than devising ways to combat the deadly virus.
People less than 25 years of age represent only one-thrid of the U.S. population. But yet they account for nearly 50% of all new cases of HIV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While considering individuals between 13 and 19 years of age, there is an equal probability that the victim can either be a male or female. However, in much higher age groups, a male is the victim in more than half of the cases.In accordance with a health report submitted by Kaiser Family Foundation, teenage girls and those belonging to the minorities are most affected. Infact, nearly 65% of all AIDS cases among 13-19-year-olds were represented by young African Americans; Latino teens represented 20 percent.
The teenage attitude issues related to sex, relationships, friendship and many other similar subjects are believed to account for a high prevalence of HIV among young girls. For example, is not uncommon for a teenage boy to have several girlfriends. It is only considered very normal. But what is less understood is that one young male who has multiple sex partners can infect several females.
Furthermore, teenage girls tend to date with older men. This increases the chances of HIV infection, as older men tend to have more sexual experience. Another factor held responsible for this scenario is poor use of the condom amongst teenagers. Nearly 79% of HIV cases in this group are a result of unprotected sexual intercourse. Lack of effective educational programmes is also to be blamed in a way.
