African-American youths account for half of new HIV infections; CDC launches "i know" campaign to reach them

Antron Reshaud and Marvelyn Brown were typical young people, seemingly invincible.

He was a college freshman and she was a popular high school athlete.

Then one day not only were they forced to face the ultimate betrayal, they had to finally deal with the possibility of death.

“I was told I wouldn’t live through the night.” Brown recalled.

In different places on different dates the teens’ lives converged on the same story line: They were HIV-positive, two more added to an epidemic that until then amounted to just so many numbers, not people with names.

“I was really ignorant,” Reshaud said. “I didn’t think it could happen to me.”

Such is the case with many young people, but not only does HIV happen to them, it happens often, said Donna McCree, a behavioral scientist in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s division of HIV-AIDS Prevention.

Indeed young people ages 13 to 29, McCree said, account for more than a third -- or 25,000 -- of new HIV infections each year.

What’s worse, she said, is African-American youths such as Reshaud and Brown, who make up only 14 percent of the U.S. population, account for half of all new HIV infections in the 13-29 age group.

In an effort to get them talking about the epidemic both online and off and hopefully slow the spread of the deadly virus, the CDC earlier this month launched “i know,” a social media initiative aimed at African-Americans ages 18 to 24.

“We can’t ever end the epidemic in the African-American community until we end the epidemic among our young people,” McCree said. “We want them to talk about HIV. We have to break the cycle.”

A big part of the problem, McCree said, is concern about HIV among this group has declined.

A study of 18- to 29-year-olds by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, showed that concern about HIV declined from a high of 54 percent in 1997 to 40 percent in 2008.

“That’s why we’re concerned and why this effort is so important,” McCree said. “We have the science, but we need their voice to make a difference.”

To make sure those voices are heard, McCree said the CDC decided to take its message to the places where young people go to connect, talk, share and take action. The initiative will use Facebook, Twitter, a new Web page, public service announcements with celebrities and text messaging (44144).

“The whole effort is designed to get them talking about HIV so we can share lifesaving intervention, reduce stigma and increase their knowledge” McCree said.

Faces for campaign

It is why both Reshaud and Brown have decided to share their stories. They believe if they’d known then what they know now, their stories would be decidedly different.

“The message was everywhere, but it never resonated with me," said Brown, who helped launch the “i know” campaign along with actor Jamie Foxx and political commentator Jeff Johnson. "By sharing my story, I’m putting a face to the campaign and making it real to my peers.”

Brown, now 25, is the author of "The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and (HIV) Positive" (Harper Collins $14.95).

Brown said she was in complete shock when she learned she was HIV-positive.

“But not that I had a virus,” she said. “I never thought I could get it because I associated AIDS with gay men and Africa. It couldn’t happen to me.”

Reshaud, who is gay, said he believed being in a monogamous relationship protected him.

They were wrong.

They said “i know" will go a long way to prevent the spread of not just wrong information but also the virus.

“It will open a lot of doors for talking openly about the epidemic, sharing information and hopefully paying it forward,” said Reshaud, a volunteer at the Evolution Project, a drop-in center for gay, bisexual and African-American males ages 16 to 26.

Back on the radar

The “i know” initiative is part of a larger CDC campaign, Act Against AIDS, launched last year.

“The whole notion was to get HIV/AIDS back on the radar screen so people know about the rates of infection,” McCree said.

In addition to stigma, McCree attributed much of the spread of the virus to the prevalence of the other sexually transmitted diseases and a lack of health care due to poverty and discrimination, which prevents people from seeking a diagnosis.

Talking about all these things, Brown said, is crucial.

“Don’t be like me,” she said. “HIV was my teacher. Let me be your teacher.”