Less than half of all teenagers have had sexual intercourse before the age of 20. 4. You can tell when people are infected with HIV because they look unhealthy. HIV can also be transmitted if people share needles for tattooing, steroids or ear piercing.
Pregnant women can also pass the virus on to their babies before or at birth.
Before 1985, when routine testing of the U.S. blood supply began, people who received blood transfusions were also at risk. Now that risk is negligible. The virus cannot be passed unless there is direct contact with the infected person's blood, semen or vaginal secretions. Seven in 10 teenage girls and eight in 10 teenage boys have had sexual intercourse before the age of 20, according to a report of the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a New York-based research organization. HIV and AIDS education should be part of a comprehensive health education curriculum that begins in the early grades.