Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1990. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - The Voice of the West, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94119 - Thursday November 29, 1990 Edition: FINAL Section: NEWS Page: A2 Word Count: 350
David Perlman, Chronicle Staff Writer
A survey of 19 colleges and universities, including some in small towns and some in big cities, shows that the AIDS infection rate is about the same among American students as it is among other people in the same age group.
Based on the new findings, the national Centers for Disease Control estimate that between 25,000 and 35,000 college students are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the AIDS virus, according to a report being published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Risky behaviors are occurring, and now we know we have the infection. It is cause for concern and appropriate attention," said Dr. Helene D. Gayle, who directed the study.
The researchers cautioned that AIDS could still spread dramatically among college students, just as other sexually transmitted diseases have in the past.
The study by the Centers for Disease Control was based on random tests of blood samples drawn from 16,863 students at 17 public and two private campuses.
The tests found that 0.2 percent of students were infected with HIV. About one in 200 college men were infected, but the infection rate among women was only one in 5,000, the report said.
"Our concern is that now that we have documented the presence of HIV on college campuses," said Dr. Richard P. Keeling of the American College Health Association, who participated in the study, "it is essentially a reservoir from which the virus can spread to other people if we do not succeed in changing behavior."
One campus participating in the survey was the University of California at Berkeley.
The report did not give a breakdown of the infection rates for each campus.
"Many people still view colleges as oases isolated from the real world, but today we see the same problems, including AIDS, that exist everywhere else in the country," said Cara Vaughn of UC's Cowell Hospital.
Copyright (c) 1990/San Francisco Chronicle. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through Permissions Coordinator, San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. You may also send a fax to (415) 495-3843, or an email message to chronperm@sfgate.com.
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Copyright © 1990 - San Francisco Chronicle Press. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the San Francisco Chronicle, Permissions Desk, 901 Mission Street, San Franciso, CA 94103. You may also send a fax to (415) 495-3843, or an email message to chronperm@sfgate.com. http://www.sfgate.com.
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