EFFORTS TARGET TEENS

As many as 344,000 Missouri teen-agers are at risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease this year, said Beth Meyerson of the Missouri health department's HIV prevention program.

That makes up about 10 percent of the 3 million U.S. teens who will have a sexually transmitted disease in 1997.

Sexually transmitted diseases represent 87 percent of cases among the nation's top 10 most frequently reported diseases. Chlamydia, gonorrhea and AIDS are the three most frequently occurring diseases.

Meyerson said strategies to prevent sexually transmitted diseases must target adolescents, who should be strongly encouraged to delay sexual intercourse. A recent survey reported that 76 percent of Missouri parents want HIV education for their children to begin prior to the sixth grade.

According to a 1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey:

-- 69 percent of Missouri high school students have had sexual intercourse.

-- 12 percent of ninth-graders reported being sexually active before age 13.

-- 15 percent of ninth-graders reported having sex with four or more partners compared to 27 percent of 12th-graders.

-- 60 percent of ninth-graders reported using a condom during the last sexual intercourse compared with 48 percent of 12th-graders.