By Scott Pohl, WKAR
EAST LANSING, MI –
For the fourth straight year, Michigan has seen an increase in the HIV infection rate among teenagers.
The rate of new diagnoses more than doubled between 2003 and 2007. There are 7.3 cases per 100,000 teenagers with HIV in the state.
Amna Osman is director of the Michigan Department of Community Health's division of health, wellness, and disease control. She says we need to talk more about sexual health in schools.
"I think it's very important that all teens who are sexually active actually get screened on a regular basis," Osman says, "and really start promoting that abstinence is one of the best options. But, if people are sexually active, they need to really start working and understanding where they can go to get services."
HIV disproportionately affects African-Americans in Michigan, with an infection rate that is ten times higher than that of whites.
Today is/was World AIDS Day.