Human immunodeficiency virus infections in teenagers. Seroprevalence among applicants for US military service. The Walter Reed Retrovirus Research Group

Abstract

Between October 15, 1985, and March 31, 1989, serum specimens from 1 141 164 teenaged youths (aged less than 20 years) who applied for entry into the US military were tested for antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus. Overall, 393 teenaged applicants were found to be seropositive (prevalence, 0.34 per 1000). Prevalences varied markedly in different geographic locales: less than 0.1 per 1000 throughout the north-central states, compared with greater than 2 per 1000 in urban counties in Maryland, Texas, New York, and the District of Columbia. Overall, rates among teenaged males (345/991 445; prevalence, 0.35 per 1000) and teenaged females (48/150 013; prevalence, 0.32 per 1000) were comparable. The prevalence among black teenaged applicants (1.06 per 1000) was greater than that among white (0.18 per 1000) or Hispanic (0.31 per 1000) teenaged applicants. Infections with the human immunodeficiency virus are not rare among teenaged Americans.

Factors Associated with AIDS-Related Behavioral Intentions among High School Students in an AIDS Epicenter

“…Adolescents account for one of the fastest growing categories of AIDS cases'; blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately represented among urban AIDS cases' as well as among HIV seropositivity prevalence estimates. 3,4 Accordingly, the development, implementation, and evaluation of AIDS prevention programs for inner city black and Hispanic youths has become an urgent public health priority.5 S A greater understanding of the determinants of intentions to engage in riskrelated and preventive behaviors is an essential precursor to the development of successful AIDS prevention programs. Over the past several decades, a number of theoretical models have been advanced to predict involvement in a variety of preventive actions.…”

Explaining the association of race and ethnicity with the HIV/AIDS-related attitudes, behaviors and skills of high school students

“…Hence, risk status is currently being assessed from teenage applicants for the military and Job Corps, from teenage mothers of newborns, and from surveys of teenagers which collect information about risk-related correlates such as STDs, knowledge about transmission, and sexual attitudes, beliefs, skills, and behaviors. Data from these sources reveal that seroprevalence of HIV infection is higher among black and Hispanic teenagers than among white teens (Burke et al 1990). Clearly the presence of HIV has been established in the adolescent population and there is a disproportionate risk for black and Hispanic teens.…”

AIDS epidemiology: inconsistencies with human immunodeficiency virus and with infectious disease.

“…Therefore, it cannot be fatally pathogenic in most infections within 2-10 years, as postulated by the virus-AIDS hypothesis. This provides the only plausible explanation for the random distribution of HIV in even as few as 0.03% of 17-to 19-year-old healthy Americans (53) and in about 10% of Africans of all ages (31,34,49,51 5,6,10,12,54,57,67,75,78,87,88). Among these, antibodies to HIV and HTLV are perhaps the most specific markers because their prevalence in AIDS patients is 73% (74) and 25% (87), respectively, but only 0.03% (53) and 0.025% (86) in the general United States population.…”

“…Since 1985, when HIV infection became detectable with the "AIDS test," the number of infected Americans has remained constant at about 1 million, or 0.4% of the population (16,18,49,50). Likewise, the percentage of HIV-positive male and female U.S. Army recruits has remained constant at 0.03% for 5 years, although >70%o of 17-to 19-year-olds are sexually active and about 50%6 are promiscuous (53,62). The strikingly constant incidence of HIV indicates that it is epidemiologically not new in the United States and thus not a plausible cause for the new epidemic AIDS.…”