If you think that only intravenous drug users, homosexuals or prostitutes get AIDS, think again. "People of all ages and walks of life run the risk of contracting the HIV virus and developing AIDS," said Daryl Inaba, CEO of Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, Inc., in San Francisco.
"This is why it's vital to always use a condom and be extremely cautious with new sex partners," said Los Angeles infectious disease specialist Peter Wolfe, M.D. "Heterosexuals in midlife are just as vulnerable to HIV infection as anyone else."
"AIDS is no longer a gay white men's disease," agrees Antoinette Mobley, HIV prevention coordinator at the Glide-Goodlett HIV/AIDS Project in San Francisco. "Baby boomers and everyone else need to remember that HIV is spreading through all neighborhoods and communities, especially through the African American community."
Safe sex all the time should be every dater's rule, Mobley advises.
"Sometimes people don't always disclose their full history to a new partner," she said, "so using a latex condom every time and practicing other safe-sex measures is the best thing you can do to protect yourself."
