HEALTH : Spread of AIDS on Campus Seen

About one in 500 U.S. college students is infected with the AIDS virus, and further spread of the deadly disease is likely on campuses unless students change their sex habits, a study concludes.

Based on the new findings, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that between 25,000 and 35,000 college students are infected with HIV, the AIDS virus.

“Risky behaviors are occurring, and now we know we have the infection. It is cause for concern and appropriate attention,” said Dr. Helene D. Gayle, who directed the study, in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine.

The CDC study is the first nationwide attempt to judge the presence of HIV on college campuses, said co-author Dr. Richard P. Keeling of the American College Health Assn.

It shows that the virus is probably about as common there as in the public at large.