HIV Attacks on Young Adults Rise
 The News
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August 18, 2009
| | Nine out of 10 people interviewed said they knew how to use a condom, but 40 percent said they didn't use them. | |
The infrequent use of condoms in young adults under 24 years old has propelled the incidences of HIV significantly, and is among the leading causes of death in that age group, according to information collected earlier this year from various sources.
Four years ago, the National Survey on Youth reported that nine out of 10 people interviewed said they knew how to use a condom, but 40 percent said they didn't use them.
Two years later, in 2007, the National Center on HIV Prevention and Control (Censida) reported that deaths AIDS-related deaths became the fourth-leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29.
And the World Health Organization warns that that age group could be a new trigger in the spread of HIV.
Since AIDS stopped being synonymous with death, experts say that for young people now, the greatest risk in not using condoms is pregnancy. Compared to the previous two decades, young adults say they aren't aware of artists or athletes who have the virus or disease.
Poor campaigns
Nacstor is a perfect example. For him, being reminded that he's living with HIV isn't a priority; first, he wants to find a job, a house, a car and a girl.
He was infected at 18 and now he's about to finish his bachelor's degree. He looks like any other young adult his age.
Despite the amount of young people catching the virus, radio, television and the internet sidestep the issue, while condom campaigns have little impact.
Of the 130,969 cases registered in Mexico between January and March, more than 35,000 were young people, and of all those cases, 22,126 were in the Federal District.
According to a study from the Mexican Social Security System (IMSS), in 2005, 98 percent of cases in Mexico City were a result of unprotected sex. That number is 6.5 percent higher than in the rest of the country. Last year, Mexico City hosted the 17th International AIDS Conference. Experts reported that as of 2005, HIV/AIDS prevalence in Mexico was still relatively low, at .3 percent or 180,000 people over 15. In all of Latin America, an estimated 1.6 million people had HIV/AIDS. |
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Health & Beauty | August 2009 
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