EDUCATION ABOUT AIDS NEEDED TO CURTAIL ILLNESS

AIDS remains a medical mystery for all health care workers, people whose livelihoods are dedicated to tracking and controlling diseases. It is little wonder that young people, whose generation will feel an increased weight of this illness, are mystified by AIDS, its cause, its transmission, its tragic result. It was with interest that a news story developed last week about an AIDS project being undertaken by high school students in Jackson. We find their inquiries, and those taking place in other schools, heartening.

AIDS was one topic chosen for an extensive study in a Jackson High School speech class. This class probably has no exclusive claim to this, but the exploration of the subject by high school students bears noting. AIDS is unique in their lives in that it was largely unknown at the time most of these students began their educations. In the time since, the virus has achieved a high level of public exposure, yet it remains shrouded in confusion, misconception and unanswered questions. With no cure in sight and the definitions blurring on what actually comprises an at-risk group, the disease remains an enigma for the approaching generation of young adults.

Some people might balk at this as inappropriate subject matter for public school discussion. True, it is a subject that must be handled with some subtlety. It is not, however, a reprise of the sex-education-in-schools debate. Nor should student discussions of AIDS be seen as a move toward dispensing condoms in school, a practice we would strongly oppose. Instead, this school project and others of its nature are critical to informing teen-agers about one of the most compelling public health issues of our times.

The questions asked by students indicated a constructive thought process is under way. Should all health care professionals be tested for AIDS? Is AIDS a problem in Southeast Missouri or only in urban areas of the state? Have the news media blown the AIDS story out of proportion to the actual dangers involved? These questions and a well-rounded discussion of the issue, including the summoning of a physician to talk about AIDS, demonstrate an active interest in understanding the disease.

Ignorance has hastened the spread of AIDS. Education is a key to curtailing it, and any attempt to get young people thinking and asking intelligent questions about the disease should be welcomed.