Last month, CNN announced new information about AIDS that concerns each one of us. The Spirit of Ma'at is publishing this information because it is not widely known, and may be of vital importance to your health or even your life.

It has been generally believed by the public that AIDS is a disease that is spread by intravenous drug use and homosexual contact. Most people have assumed that if they were heterosexual and did not use drugs, their chance of contracting AIDS was very small.

It now seems evident that quite the reverse is true.

According to Dr. Gottlieb, the immunologist who first identified the AIDS epidemic, "only 0.5 percent of the AIDS cases [in the world's population today] were contracted due to homosexual contact." To put this in a more graphic form, out of 200 people worldwide who are currently known to be infected with AIDS, only one contracted the disease through homosexual contact.

Dr. Gottlieb made his statement on CNN's "Capital Gang," and became the "Newsmaker of the Week." His statement means that if you are heterosexual, male or female, the need to practice safe sex is greater than ever before.