FACTS ABOUT AIDS

1. 130,000 Americans have died of AIDS.

2. More Americans have died of AIDS than the combined war deaths in Korea and Vietnam.

3. Approximately 100,000 adolescents are infected now, and about 2,000 have already contracted the disease. Heterosexual sex is the primary way teens get infected.

Some simple, overlooked risks may include girls sharing needles when piercing each other's ears; and boys using the same needles to inject steroids.

4. Adolescent cases of AIDS are beginning to double every year.

5. Approximately 80 percent of New York City's high school students are sexually active.

6. Blood donation is completely safe; the needle used to draw blood is sterile and is used only once, then discarded to avoid transmitting infectious diseases.

7. Abstinence is the safest behavior. Those sexually active substantially reduce the risk of infection through the use of a condom containing the spermicide nonoxynol-9.

8. Teens, like anyone else, can get HIV and transmit it to others without evidence of symptoms for up to 10 years or longer.

Sources include the Centers for Disease Control, ABC News