Older Americans and AIDS: transmission risks and primary prevention research needs

The growing number of AIDS cases among older Americans (50 years and older) is of increasing concern. In the context of primary prevention, findings are reviewed that bear on the modes of HIV transmission (blood transfusion, sexual) among older individuals and knowledge of the magnitude of the AIDS problem represented by these routes of infection. Lastly, a proposed research agenda is focused on questions of primary prevention of HIV transmission.