skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

What’s Your HIV Status? Half of Infected Youth Don’t Know

play audio
Play

Thursday, November 29, 2012   

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Too many young people continue to become infected with HIV, and too few are tested, according to a new government report. The data was released by the Centers for Disease Control, ahead of World AIDS Day on Saturday, Dec. 1. The report says 60 percent of youth living with the virus do not know they are infected.

Nichole Sewell, education specialist with the Family Planning Association of Northeast Ohio, says some people are in denial about their risky behavior and do not think it can happen to them. Initially, an HIV infection often shows no signs, she adds.

"People just aren't showing any symptoms. You can be healthy and living a normal healthy life and still have HIV infection and just not know it."

The report found that individuals between the ages of 13 and 24 represent more than a quarter of new HIV infections each year. However, only 13 percent of high school students and 35 percent of people ages 18 to 24 have ever been tested. Overall, new HIV infections have held steady nationally at around 50,000 annually, with teens and young adults accounting for about 12,000 cases.

HIV testing is crucial to getting medical care and treatment that can improve health, prevent the spread of the virus and save lives, Sewell says. She recommends that everyone know the facts before becoming intimate.

"If someone's considering being sexually active, I highly recommend they be tested - maybe go in together as a couple - so they know their status before they become sexually active. Testing greatly decreases the risk of not only HIV, but any other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as well."

According to the report, sexually active youth can reduce their risk of becoming infected by choosing not to have sex, limiting their number of sex partners and using a condom every time.

The report is available at www.cdc.gov.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021