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AFRICA: Teen sex fuels global AIDS - study

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

JOHANNESBURG, 11 November (PLUSNEWS) - A new study has suggested that casual sex among teens aged 14 to 18 was fuelling a global HIV/AIDS epidemic among the youth.

It is estimated that about one-third of some 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS across the globe are under the age of 25.

Harvard University's Dr John Chittick said teenagers were having sex more frequently, at a younger age, and with more partners than any preceding generation.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 25 percent of all new cases of HIV in the US now occur among young people aged 13 to 19.

America's Plokta News Network (PNN) quoted Chittick as saying: "Ten years ago these numbers were negligible. Yet teen sex is exploding and, in this day and age, HIV/AIDS is its natural consequence."

The Harvard educator said the findings of his international research showed that high incidences of casual sex among teens was also the major cause of other sexually transmitted infections worldwide.

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