U.S. Teens Using Condoms

D U R B A N, South Africa, July 10 -- U.S. teen-agers are clearly gettingthe message about AIDS, new data show. Compared to a decade ago,they wait longer to have sex, use condoms when they start and do itwith fewer partners.

The data, released today, are part of a generally encouragingview of the AIDS epidemic in the United States that contrasts withthe gloomy picture from much of the rest of the world, especiallyAfrica.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reportedseveral pieces of data that showed upbeat trends, especiallyfalling HIV infection among U.S. women. But at the same time,officials caution that infection rates are unacceptably high amongblacks in some Northeastern and Southern cities, and there areworrisome hints that young gay men may be turning away from condomuse.

An Increasingly Complex Picture

“This is an increasingly complex picture of HIV/AIDS,” saidthe CDC’s Dr. Ronald Valdiserri. “Balancing our successes is aneed to sustain our efforts.”

A letup in teen-age sexual activity was first noticed by the CDCtwo years ago. But officials say the latest data, which cover theentire decade, prove that is a clear trend and not merely astatistical blip.

Based on five school surveys, the CDC found:

50 percent of teen-agers reported ever having had sex in 1999,down from 54 percent in 1991.

16 percent said they’d had four or more partners, down from 19percent.

8 percent had sex before age 13, down from 10 percent.

58 percent said they used a condom the last time they had sex,up from 46 percent.

“This means fewer U.S. high school students are engaging insexual activity that puts them at risk for HIV infection,” saidthe CDC’s Dr. Laura Kann.

The researchers attributed the change to the widely repeateddual message of sexual abstinence and condom use.

Overall, the CDC estimates that 40,000 new HIV infections occurin the United States each year, and this rate has stayed constantthrough the ’90s. At the epidemic’s height in the 1980’s, therewere 100,000 new infections annually.