"Condom fatigue" replaces
"No Glove, No Love"

Lack of resources and knowledge could be leading
to a rise in AIDS among heterosexuals

By Julia Cyboran

Meet the new face of AIDS: a 15 year-old black female -- it's a far cry from the old stereotype.

In the states there were 43,126 new cases of AIDS in 2002; of those, a staggering 35% were among heterosexuals. Equally surprising, 74% of them were among blacks, and, another surprise, 64% of those were female -- nine out of 10 of them black teenagers. These startling figures are the latest from the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta.

The situation in Canada is quite different, according to Dr Pierre-Paul Tellier, Medical Director of the McGill University Student Health Centre. "It's important to look at the demographics in the US. Many of the people who contract AIDS are of a lower economic class. Crack and cocaine use also play a significant role in HIV transmission, and those drugs are less of a problem in Canada," he says.

On the other hand, there's an increase in 'serious' sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like syphilis and gonorrhea among the young. "AIDS and STIs have always been present among the sexually active twenty-somethings," Dr Tellier points out. "The real problem occurs when you look at people in the 15 to 19 age group. Though not a lot of this age group are sexually active, there's a proportionally higher incidence of AIDS among these individuals."

The 2002 Canadian AIDS statistics highlight, in a modest way, the fact that AIDS is a gathering problem among young women. Of the 2,473 new cases reported that year, 24 cases were among females aged 15 to 19, with only nine from the same male demographic. Clearly the numbers are understated, possibly because STD cases are not routinely screened for HIV in Canada, suggests Dr Tellier. The interesting part of the statistics, of course, is the large proportion of the sample that are female.

"There's a general 'condom-fatigue' these days, and that is worrisome," says Dr Tellier, "HIV-AIDS is not talked about as much anymore. It used to be everywhere -- on every billboard, TV stations, and newspaper."

Although it's sometimes difficult to reach the teenaged, Dr Tellier stresses that it's important to talk to teenaged patients about STIs and have them tested. "You need to get that sexual history," he insists. "It's the most important part of history-taking with adolescent patients."