Monroe County health officials announced today a new trend in cases of HIV among teens and young adults. Preliminary data for 2010 indicates that nearly half of the cases of people diagnosed with HIV, or the human immunodeficiency virus, in Monroe County so far this year are younger than 25. Prior to this year, the majority of new cases were in people ages 30 to 40, said Dr. Andrew Doniger, Monroe County Public Health director. in 2008 and 2009, respectively, 16 and 22 percent of new cases were younger than 25, in contrast to 45 percent this year. So far in 2010, there have been 27 new HIV cases in Monroe County in people age 24 and below. twenty of those cases are for people ages 20 to 24, and seven are teens ages 13 to 19. “This change is very troubling and may signal that our younger people are not taking the risk of HIV and other (sexually transmitted diseases) seriously,” said Doniger. he added, “It’s really a wake up call for young adults in the community.” the newly reported cases include both men and women, but are more concentrated among young African American men who have sex with men, according to health officials. although official data for 2010 is not yet available, said Doniger, this new trend is also seen across the state and nationally. Monroe County, in general, has lower rates of new cases than urban areas, such as New York City, but higher ones than more rural areas in New York. Doniger said he isn’t sure what has caused the change, but said that now that the disease is more treatable, young people may be taking less strides to protect themselves. “This generation of young people really doesn’t remember how troubling the epidemic has been and how it’s been described over the past 30 years,” he said, adding that he fears there could be an epidemic among young people. “It would just be a terrible turn of events for us.” A new state law, which went into effect on Sept. 1, requires that HIV testing be offered, with few exceptions, to all people between the ages of 13 and 64, who are receiving hospital, urgent care or primary care services. “As with many other diseases, patients with HIV who begin treatment early have much better outcomes,” said Nancy Adams, executive director of the Monroe County Medical Society. “This is why doctors are now being instructed to ask patients if they would like to be tested. While you will be asked only once, you can certainly talk with your doctor anytime about HIV testing.” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously suggested that people with identified risk factors for HIV be tested. But, said Doniger, a lot of people were unwilling to be open with their physicians. the new recommendation is that young people who are having sex get tested at least twice a year. one in five people who have been infected with HIV do not know, said Doniger. It can be several years before a person begins exhibiting symptoms. More than ever, it is important for people to be diagnosed early because treatment is a lot more successful than it was a couple decades ago, said Dr. Marguerite Urban, the medical director of the Monroe County STD Clinic. “It really used to be a universally fatal condition,” she said. “It’s become a very manageable chronic condition.” Monroe County has begun working with a coalition of agencies funded to do HIV prevention and testing to use traditional and social media, such as Facebook, to reach out to young people. “I think it’s critical that young people be involved in creating these messages,” said Doniger.