HIV Infection for Youth at High Risk

More than 30 percent of young males who had sex with other males and who were subsequently enrolled in a government treatment and research network were found to have high levels of HIV.

 Washington, DC - infoZine - The health status of the study participants, who ranged in age from 12 to 24 years, was monitored as part of their participation in the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN). The ATN provides medical care to youth with HIV and offers counseling and, medications, and other preventive measures to youth who are at risk of acquiring HIV. As part of their participation in the network, the youth have the option of taking part in research studies of the latest methods to prevent people from acquiring HIV and to treat those who have become infected.

To conduct the current study, researchers analyzed the health records of youth with HIV, soon after they enrolled in the ATN. The study authors noted that the high blood levels of the virus seen in the majority of study participants indicated that they were diagnosed early in the course of HIV infection, when the chances for minimizing the health consequences of HIV are greatest. The researchers added, however, that the study results suggest that HIV is highly likely to be transmitted among members of this group.


 "This is not a time for complacency," said study author Bill G. Kapogiannis, M.D., scientific director of the ATN. "Our results suggest that all health care providers who work with young people -- particularly those who work with males who have sex with other males -- should stress the urgency of getting tested, and, if infected, into treatment, which benefits their own health as well as reduces transmission to others."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 4 new HIV infections occur in young people from 13 to 24 years of age. About 60 percent of all youth with HIV do not know they are infected, are not getting treated, and can unknowingly pass the virus on to others. Among the groups that the CDC recommends get tested for HIV are those:

• Who have injected drugs and shared needles and other equipment with others
  
• Who have had unprotected sex with men who have sex with men, had multiple partners or anonymous partners
  
• Have been diagnosed with hepatitis, tuberculosis, or a sexually transmitted disease
  
• Had unprotected sex with someone in the above groups
  The study was published online in the journal AIDS.

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