HIV/AIDS a growing concern on campuses

Half of the newly infected HIV population is under the age of 25, and the disease is a becoming a big concern on college campuses.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year in the United States, about 70 percent among men and 30 percent among women.

While students may be aware of the risks, they do not always act on this knowledge in terms of safe-sex practices.

"Generally, students are not concerned about [HIV/AIDS]," Director of Health Education Susan Villari said. "I think they perceive other students to be low-risk on Penn's campus."

"Ninety percent of the time, students are not using protection with oral sex," Villari said. "Viruses -- including HIV -- can be transmitted orally."

According to Ian Frank, associate professor of medicine in the infectious diseases division of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, HIV infection is a concern on college campuses.

"There are colleges in North Carolina where they're having mini-epidemics of HIV transmission," Frank said. "HIV is alive and is potentially on every college campus in the country."

Penn's Division of Infectious Diseases currently treats approximately eight hundred patients, ranging in age from late teens to late seventies.

"Most of the younger people we take care of are men who have had sex with men," Frank said. "They think [that] becoming HIV-infected is not going to happen to them. Either they don't know people with HIV or they may think that there are a lot of treatment options available, so they are willing to take the risk."

However, heterosexual women are also very much at risk for HIV infection.

"We are working to dispel the mythology that it's just gay men," Director of the Penn Women's Center Elena Di Lapi said, referring to initiatives targeting women on campus. "Our concern is that people may not understand how much they're at risk, particularly among college students."

The female population, in particular, has seen increased rates of infection over the past few years.

"Women represent the population where [HIV] infection is increasing more rapidly," Frank said. "A lot of young heterosexuals don't think they are at risk. There may be a false sense of security among younger women."

Many feel that education is key in preventing the spread of HIV.

"Given how conservative some areas of this country are, I wouldn't be surprised if people weren't getting formally educated [about HIV/AIDS]," Frank said.

According to Director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center Bob Schoenberg, "The LGBT Center is very interested in health-related issues and very committed to educating students about the transmission of HIV/AIDS and other transmitted infections."

The LGBT center will sponsor a four-part HIV/STD program this semester in conjunction with SafeGuards, a non-profit community health organization in Philadelphia.

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