In 1981, scientists in the United States and France first recognized the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which was later discovered to be caused by a virus called the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). HIV breaks down the body’s immunity to infections leading to AIDS. The virus can lie hidden in the body for up to 10 years without producing any obvious symptoms or before developing into the AIDS disease, and in the meantime the person can unknowingly infect others. HIV lives in white blood cells and is present in the sexual fluids of humans. It’s difficult to catch and is spread mostly through sexual intercourse, by needle or syringe sharing among intravenous drug users, in blood transfusions, and during pregnancy and birth (if the mother is infected). Using another person’s razor blade or having your body pierced or tattooed are also risky, but the HIV virus cannot be transmitted by shaking hands, kissing, cuddling, fondling, sneezing, cooking food, or sharing eating or drinking utensils. One cannot be infected by saliva, sweat, tears, urine, or feces; toilet seats, telephones, swimming pools, or mosquito bites do not cause AIDS. Ostracizing a known AIDS victim is not only immoral but also absurd.

HIV is spread more often through anal than vaginal sex, because the lining of the rectum is much weaker than that of the vagina, and ordinary condoms sometimes tear when used in anal sex. If you have anal sex, only use extra-strong condoms and special water-based lubricants, since oil, Vaseline, and cream weaken the rubber. During oral sex you must make sure you don’t get any semen or menstrual blood in your mouth. A woman runs 10 times the risk of contracting AIDS from a man than the other way around, and the threat is always greater when another sexually transmitted disease (STD) is present. The very existence of AIDS calls for a basic change in human behavior. No vaccine or drug exists that can prevent or cure AIDS, and because the virus mutates frequently, no remedy may ever be totally effective. Other STDs such as syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis B, and herpes are far more common than AIDS and can lead to serious complications such as infertility, but at least they can usually be cured.

With AIDS prevalence and incidence still high in some parts of the world and still a public health concern in the U.S., there’s no arguing that more effective AIDS prevention programs are still needed to be designed and implemented. Over 150 Americans are diagnosed with HIV every day.
Foremost in the fight in AIDS prevention is raising awareness on this disease through proper sex education. The problem with most sex education curricula implemented in schools is its discordance with what the youth would need to know. Most teachers, policy makers, and concern parents still think that AIDS education is something beyond the scope of young mentality, that teenage students are not ‘adult’ or ‘old’ enough to understand what this disease is and on the importance of AIDS prevention.

An effective AIDS prevention program hinges not only on a single behavior, method or use of devices. As young children turn into teenagers and young adults, they must be armed with sufficient information that would enable them to make enlightened decisions. They must know that there are different options available out there to protect themselves, such as condoms and other contraceptives, and it is within their rights to use them. Sure, abstinence and fidelity would probably be the most ideal way to go, but modern society, with its changing norms and influences, often render those options impractical. They must be given a chance to explore other possibilities, and know that contraceptives, when used with free choice and proper knowledge, are not bad things after all. To better understand the concept of AIDS prevention and practice of safe sex would also serve to drive home the fact that STDs, particularly the HIV virus, is out there and may catch the unwary and the unprotected.