Seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus among adolescent attendees of Mississippi sexually transmitted disease clinics: a rural epidemic.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among adolescents is causing increasing concern, and teenagers attending sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics run a high risk of contracting it. To determine the status of HIV infection in a Mississippi adolescent population, we evaluated seroprevalence rates for adolescents attending Mississippi State Department of Health STD clinics from 1988 to 1990. During this 2-year period, 9855 adolescents (aged 13 to 20 years) attended STD clinics, and HIV antibody was confirmed in 39 (seroprevalence rate 4.0/1000; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.7 to 5.2). Seropositive rates were almost equal for male and female subjects (4.1/1000 and 3.8/1000, respectively), suggesting predominantly heterosexual transmission. Rates among blacks were 3.5 times higher than among whites. Adolescents with HIV infection were identified throughout the state, irrespective of urban centers. Rates among the smallest counties (ie, population less than 25,000) were not significantly different from those of the largest counties (ie, population greater than 100,000). Mississippi's rank in the top 10 states for other STDs and the state's high teenage pregnancy rate make it an epicenter of the HIV epidemic among adolescents.