Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - Friday May 26, 1989
"The parent who does not take the time today to teach his or her child properly could end up later in a hospital room watching that child die," Dr. James Mason, assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services, told a news conference.
Department officials said parents and other interested adults could obtain a free copy of the guide, in either English or Spanish, by calling the National AIDS Hot Line at 1-800-342-AIDS.
"Halting the spread of HIV (the AIDS virus) is this administration's highest public health priority," HHS Secretary Louis Sullivan told reporters.
He said about one in five of the nearly 95,000 Americans diagnosed with AIDS to date were between 13 and 29 years of age at the time of diagnosis.
"A person can be infected with HIV for as long as 10 years or more before signs of AIDS appear, therefore scientists believe that a significant number of these young people were infected when they were teen-agers," Sullivan said.
"Until there is a vaccine or a cure for AIDS, education -- frank, straightforward talk about HIV infection and AIDS -- is the only way we can prevent future cases," he said.
The guide -- actually a series of guides aimed at different age groups -- sets out in straightforward language how one can, and cannot, become infected with AIDS and how to avoid infection.
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