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Confused about HIV/AIDS

02/Oct/2006: A survey conducted by the European Union executive found that almost half of the population in the EU member states continues to have misconceptions about HIV/AIDS and how it spreads.

Even though a majority of the population knew that HIV spreads through unprotected sex, sharing needles and through transfusion of unscreened blood, 45% of population still believes that donating blood, sharing glasses and sitting on a toilet seats used by HIV patients, could spread the disease. Only 40% of the population was aware that HIV does not spread by kissing on the mouth.

Markos Kyprianou, the health commissioner of the EU, said that we should not lose site of the fact that HIV is still a preventable killer and he added that he was worried about the decreasing attention for prevention of this disease.

Kyprianou said that the new EU member states should try to spread awareness among its citizens on this disease, as many of these states suffer from HIV epidemic, or they border the countries where the HIV epidemic is on the rise.

The report found that young people in urban areas are taking fewer precautions to prevent the spread this disease, in spite of their high level of awareness. Kyprianou wants to educate the younger generation, on use of sterile needles and safer or protected sex, as many young people underestimate the potential risk of this disease.

This survey covered more 24,000 EU residents, who were 15 years and older and the margin of error in the results was estimated to be between 1.9 to 3.1 percentage points.

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