Bernell DorroughThe first generation to grow up with AIDS may now be facing it head-on. Results of a recent study indicate that the first outbreak of HIV among college students may be underway.
The study, which was presented earlier this month at the 11th annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, found that there is an increase in reported HIV cases among male students in North Carolina. Of the 84 total cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2004, all but four of the students were enrolled in North Carolina colleges.
These results indicate a significant increase in the rate of infection on college campuses in comparison to results from a similar survey in the 1990s.
As the Assistant Director and Health Educator for Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) at Washington University, Betsy Foy performs the HIV tests offered confidentially by SHCS. According to Foy, college students as a group are at risk for the virus.
“It’s always been known, and there are statistics that college students are at a very high risk for [contracting] HIV,” said Foy. “They’re at a stage where they’re having multiple sexual partners and where they may not be using condoms.”
Foy estimates that approximately 130 to 180 students are tested for HIV per year through SHCS. This number does not include students who are tested at outside clinics. She noted that some students get tested just to be cautious.
“A lot of people I’ve seen are just in a new relationship,” said Foy. “They don’t think they’re at risk, but they and their partner have decided to get tested.”
In other cases, tests are performed under more urgent circumstances.
“When a student comes to my office, it’s often because they’re afraid they’ve been exposed by having unprotected sex,” said Foy. “They’re so upset that they say ‘I will never again not use a condom.’ But of course people don’t realize that unless this has happened to them.”
According to Foy, informing students about HIV testing is imperative given the situation in North Carolina.
“We’re very concerned about it, and the best thing that we can do is try to get the word out,” said Foy. “We have flyers, and we’ve given them to some students, just to make sure they know that testing is available.”
According to Alan Glass, Ph.D., director of SHCS, testing is also performed on campus for other STDS such as human papillomavirus (HPV), gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis B, herpes and chlamydia.
Glass feels that alerting students to the risks of HIV is key to the SHCS’s response to the situation in North Carolina.
“Certainly, the first piece of [our response] is increased awareness, and this has to do with the education of health care professionals as well as students,” said Glass.
Junior Jennifer Durham is a leader of Wash. U. HOPE (HIV Outreach Prevention Education), a group that promotes AIDS awareness on campus and educates students about safe sex. According to Durham, the spread of STDs often occurs among college students when monogamous couples forego condoms for other forms of contraception.
“Then people break up after a few months and have another physical monogamous relationship,” said Durham. “So there’s this serial monogamy going on.”
Although some students on campus are informed about the risks posed by HIV, some have adopted a false sense of security, said Durham.
“I think our generation will be more aware than the generations before, having grown up with HIV and AIDS,” she said. “But I think a lot of people think they’re fine, even though there are cases of HIV [here at the University]. I also think we’re at that age when you think you’re invincible, so I think people aren’t as worried about it as they could be.”
According to Glass, this sense of security may only be eliminated by events like the North Carolina outbreak.
“Of course it’s very unfortunate that there’s been this resurgence [of HIV] in the college population,” said Glass. “But if people wake up a little bit and realize that HIV is still out there and is still a problem among college students, then some good may come of it.”