Two out of every 1,000 college student tested at 35 U.S. campuses are infected with the AIDS virus, according to federal reports.

That might be good news considering those were the same figures given by a survey 18 months ago. The proportion of HIV-positive students nationally does not appear to be rising.

But the fact that it is not increasing rapidly does not mean there is no chance of it still happening, said Rosemary Lane, University Health Service director.

“Just because it isn’t rising doesn’t mean it isn’t happening anymore, and people should still be careful,” Lane said. NIU does not endorse mandatory, random or directed testing to screen students or employees for AIDS. While the university is not equipped to treat AIDS patients through the health service, it is equipped to test for sexually transmitted diseases, including the AIDS virus.

“No voluntary student blood donors have been HIV positive. I’m not saying there are no HIV positive people on campus, but none of them have voluntarily given blood,” Lane said.

In the national study, infection was found in .2 percent of 16,500 students whose blood was taken for reasons other than STD testing. In DeKalb County, where the numbers also have held steady, there have been nine reported cases of AIDS.

There is no way to know for sure how many actual AIDS cases there are at NIU because students are not likely to have fully developed the virus, and many just might not even know that they have it, said Michael Haines, Health Service worker.

For that reason, it is impossible to tell whether or not AIDS is on the rise here, Haines said.

“Students are more aware of HIV and how to prevent it,” Lane said. “I think they must know better by now,”