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Among nearly 40 Prince George's Community College students who attended an event Monday at the school raising awareness of the worldwide HIV and AIDS epidemic, many students were shocked to learn the high numbers of the immune disease among county residents and their peers.

Prince George's County has the second-highest number of people living with the human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in Maryland, behind Baltimore city, according to HIV/AIDS information from the county's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

With nearly 56,300 new cases of HIV each year in the U.S., Prince George's County has more than 5,200 citizens living with HIV/AIDS, a number that has increased 33 percent from 2003 to 2006, Donald Shell, health officer for the Prince George's County Health Department, stated in a press release Nov. 26.

"The stats scared me— I never thought so many people in our area had AIDS," said Takeisha Coates, 17, of Largo, a first-year student who was tested Monday. "It was an eye-opener and makes me think more. It fazes me more."

Former student Kurt Hutson, 21, of Hyattsville agreed.

"The stats were quite intimidating," he said. "I didn't get tested today, but I've been tested before. [STDs and HIV] are unpredictable. You can be in a relationship and trust someone and think you're safe, but you don't know."

The county health department and PGCC sponsored events at the Largo school as part of World AIDS Day, an international day of action celebrated every Dec. 1 to raise awareness about the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The 2008 theme for the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day was "Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise-Leadership," targeting people under 25 to help prevent new cases.

In line with national statistics, in Prince George's and Montgomery counties 20- to 29-year-olds have the sharpest increase over time for people living with HIV and AIDS.

The World Health Organization started World AIDS Day in 1999 to raise awareness and focus on the global epidemic, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site. In 2007, an estimated 33.2 million people were living with HIV worldwide; 2.7 million people were newly infected.

Students learned statistics about sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS and participated in open forums about sex, relationships and HIV/AIDS during the events.

"We can all be safe together and fight [AIDS] together," said Aliya Epps, 21, of Forestville, a second-year PGCC student and president of By Any Means Necessary, an organization that co-sponsored the event and promotes community service and awareness through open forums. "It's a hard topic [for my peers] to discuss— the reality is hard to take on."

The county health department had 100 testing kits available to test students, staff and the community. Nearly 60 people were tested for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, said Rhonda Wallace, the department's STD and HIV prevention outreach program project manager.

"It's newer for the 15- to 24-[year-old] age group to be tested for STDs and HIV/AIDS because it's being promoted more [which is encouraging more young people to be tested]," Wallace said.

E-mail Liz Skalski at eskalski@gazette.net.