Poll finds gap in HIV awareness

Published on 17/02/2011 17:20

One in five adults is unaware that HIV can be passed between a man and a woman not using a condom, research suggests.

The same number does not know HIV can be spread between gay men having unprotected sex, and more than half (55 per cent) are unaware that sharing needles and syringes can transmit the disease.

An increasing proportion of adults incorrectly believe HIV can be transmitted by kissing and spitting - one in 10 adults surveyed believe this, compared to around 5 per cent in 2007.

The most recent poll, of almost 2,000 people for the National Aids Trust, is included in a report on knowledge about HIV.

People were given a list of 11 possible routes of HIV transmission and asked to select those that applied to the disease.