Twenty-five percent of all cases of gonorrhea and syphilis occur to persons between the ages of 10 and 19. Because of its long incubation period, very few cases of full-blown AIDS exist among teenagers, and most teens infected with HIV at age 14 will not be counted among AIDS patients until their early twenties. But we can assume that many AIDS-symptomatic individuals between the ages of 20 and 29 were probably infected with HIV even before they left elementary school. Although AIDS first came to national attention as a disease mainly afflicting homosexual men, it quickly moved over to the heterosexual community. The World Health Organization estimates that 60 percent of HIV transmission worldwide is through heterosexual intercourse, a percentage that will likely rise to 75 or 80 in the next 10 years.
Some educators doubt that significant numbers of teenagers participate in high-risk activities.
Unfortunately, we have plenty of evidence to the contrary. Recent surveys have been remarkably consistent in reporting numbers of sexually active teens. The 1988 National Survey of Adolescent Males states that 60 percent of never-married males between the ages of 15 and 19 are sexually active. An earlier National Longitudinal Survey of Youth reported numbers only slightly lower. The Canada Youth and AIDS Survey of 1989 also revealed comparable numbers.