Epidemiology of AIDS, HIV Prevalence, and HIV Incidence Among Adolescents

Health educators, policy analysts, and public health officials are becoming more aware of the serious threat HIV poses to the health of U.S. adolescents. While AIDS among adolescents remains relatively uncommon, considerable data indicates this age group has alarmingly high HIV infection rates and that minority adolescents are at disproportionately greater risk of HIV infection relative to their White peers. Recent seroconversion studies of active duty military personnel indicate that the number of new HIV infections (incident cases) are especially high among Black adolescents. Findings suggest the urgent need for more tailored HIV prevention programs, especially gender- and ethnic-specific programs.