The education must be focused on those who are either infected or at risk of becoming infected. The prevalence of the disease in a particular population will determine whether the education should be provided through mass methods or through individual contacts. In San Francisco, two strategies have been developed to deal with both a high and low prevalence situation. The first strategy assumed that all homosexual and bisexual men and all hemophiliacs and intravenous drug users should consider themselves infectious and should receive mass education. The second strategy has been to target individuals at high risk and to include contact tracing and partner referral programs as part of the effort. Other components essential to AIDS prevention are community education, health provider education, and risk group education. Educational efforts should also make people aware that they cannot unknowingly be infected with the AIDS virus. Finally, public health officials should continue to resist discriminatory and restrictive actions that are not based on scientific information and sound principles of public health. 11 references.