AIDS On The Rise In American Youth

The news is not good. More and more American youth are contracting AIDS today. The numbers should make those of us that work with youth and families straighten our backs and take notice:

"...on the eve of World AIDS Day, a disturbing statistical fact has emerged in this country: The number of newly infected teens and young adults is suddenly on the rise.

And the question is, why?

According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 2001 to 2005 (the latest years available), the number of new cases of HIV infection diagnosed among 15-to-19-year-olds in the United States rose from 1,010 in 2001, held steady for the next three years, then jumped 20 percent in 2005, to 1,213 cases.

For young people aged 20 to 24, cases of new infection have climbed steadily, from 3,184 in 2001 to 3,876 in 2005."

Check out the rest of the article here.

And though Africa should get a ton of attention given the pandemic that creating havoc on the that continent, let us never ever fool ourselves into thinking that this disease does not reek its own brand of destruction here in the U.S.