OCTOBER is NATIONAL HIV/AIDS AWARENESS MONTH

1. We are all aware that HIV/AIDS is an international epidemic. Everyone is affected by it. As college students, we must be aware of the FACTS and what we can do to PREVENT the transmission of AIDS. OCTOBER is NATIONAL HIV/AIDS AWARENESS MONTH

2. The Hard Facts • U.N. AIDS estimates that there are now over 34 million people living with HIV or AIDS worldwide. • In the U.S., nearly one million people have HIV or AIDS. • At least 40,000 Americans become newly infected with HIV each year, and it is estimated that half of all people with HIV in the U.S. do not know they are carrying the virus. • AIDS has killed nearly 19 million people worldwide, including some 425,000 Americans.

3. The Hard Facts • AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. • Over 13 million children have been orphaned by the epidemic. • In western countries, women are four times more likely to contract HIV through vaginal sex with infected males than vice versa. • Having another sexually transmitted infection (STI) can increase your risk of acquiring and transmitting HIV. People with STIs are three to five times more likely to contract or transmit the virus through sexual contact.

4. How HIV is transmitted • An HIV-infected person carries the virus in certain body fluids, including blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk • HIV can be transmitted only if such HIV-infected fluids enter the bloodstream of another person, either through the linings of the vagina, rectum, mouth, and the opening at the tip of the penis, through intravenous injection with a syringe, or through a break in the skin, such as a cut or sore.

5. How HIV is not transmitted • Food or air • Coughing or sneezing • Sharing eating utensils or bathroom facilities • Hugging or kissing • Giving blood

6. HOW TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF HIV • First and foremost, abstaining from intercourse and other forms of sex is the MOST EFFECTIVE way to protect yourself from HIV and all sexually transmitted infections. • If you are sexually active, protect yourself from HIV infection by practicing safer sex. Whenever you have sex, use a condom or "dental dam" (a square of latex recommended for use during oral-genital and oral-anal sex). When used properly and consistently, condoms are extremely effective.

7. A Great Resource and the Source for all HIV information - www.thebody.com

8. The University Health Center is a GREAT resource when it comes to sexual health. You have NO EXCUSE to not be smart with resources like these on campus. Check out www.health.umd.edu or call x4-8180 for more information. *** Free condoms at the Health Center! *** Sexual Health at Maryland

9. The Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (S.H.A.R.E.) Program • Offers workshops in the residence halls and for campus organizations • Workshops are run by Peer Educators to make the experience as comfortable as possible • Information on everything from contraceptive methods to pap smears

10. The Men's Sexual Health Program • Offers one-on-one counseling to male students • Topics include counseling about STDs, safer sex practices, testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and sexual performance issues

11. MaggiBridwell Center for Women's Health • Annual and routine Gyn care • Pregnancy Counseling • Emergency Contraceptive Pill • Birth Control • Sexually Transmitted Infection testing • For more info, call x4-8190

12. BOTTOM LINE: PRACTICE ABSTINENCE OR SAFE SEX TO PREVENT CONTRACTING STIs! Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI)

13. Facts and Statistics • One in five people in the United States has an STI • Two-thirds of all STIs occur in people 25 years of age or younger • Cervical cancer in women is linked to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) • Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV • STIs, other than HIV, cost about $8 billion each year to diagnose and treat • One in five Americans have genital herpes, yet at least 80 percent of those with herpes are unaware they have it • At least one in four Americans will contract an STI at some point in their lives • HPV is the most common STI in the United States • More than 5 million people are infected with HPV each year • Less than half of adults ages 18-44 have ever been tested for an STI other than HIV/AIDS • At least 15 percent of all infertile American women are infertile because of tubal damage caused by pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), the result of an untreated STI • Two-thirds of Hepatitis B (HBV) infections are transmitted sexually and are linked to chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer.