The European Commission's Eurobarometer survey on HIV/AIDS has found that 60% of Europe's adults think it is possible to be infected through kissing someone who is HIV-positive on the mouth. The results of the survey, which was released on Tuesday, suggest that widespread ignorance around HIV transmission risks may be fuelling HIV-related stigma and discrimination.
Although most Europeans were aware of the main transmission risks, many believed that HIV can transmitted through giving blood, sharing a glass or using a toilet seat. Furthermore, general levels of awareness of HIV transmission risks have significantly decreased in Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom (UK) since the last survey, which took place in 2002.
The Eurobarometer survey examined public awareness of HIV/AIDS and whether this affected their behaviour. The survey, carried out in the fourth quarter of 2005, involved around 25,000 respondents who were aged 15 years and over.
The vast majority of Europeans surveyed (around 94%) knew that HIV can be transmitted via unprotected sex, through sharing needles, and by receiving HIV-infected blood. However, the survey did not include a question about mother-to-child transmission.
However, on average, only 40% of respondents knew that it is not possible to be infected through kissing an HIV-positive person on the mouth. French (69%), Danish (59%) and Dutch (58%) respondents were the most likely to know this. Slovakians were the least informed, with only 16% knowing that kissing cannot transmit HIV. Although 42% of UK respondents knew that HIV cannot be transmitted via kissing, 22% thought it could and a further 29% though it was possible.
The survey also found a remarkable misunderstanding about the risks of HIV transmission and donating blood. On average, 54% of Europeans thought that they were at risk of HIV infection when they gave blood. Although 89% of Swedes knew that this was not an HIV risk, only 16% of Slovakians knew this. A worrying 36% of UK respondents thought that HIV could be transmitted in this way, and those that knew it could not fell from 59% in 2002 to 51% in 2006.
The Eurobarometer survey also found that some people still have completely irrational HIV transmission fears.
- Europe-wide, only 55% (73% in the UK) knew for certain that HIV could not be transmitted by sitting on a toilet seat after someone with HIV had used it.
- On average, 30% of Europeans (24% in the UK) thought that it was possible to be infected by HIV by eating a meal prepared by someone who was HIV-positive.
- Another 22% of Europeans (17% in the UK) thought that it was possible that HIV could be transmitted by handling objects touched by someone with HIV.
- And 17% of Europeans (10% in the UK) thought that HIV could possibly be acquired by shaking hands with an HIV-positive person.
This widespread ignorance of HIV transmission also affected the social behaviour of many Europeans. A significant number of Maltese (42%), Cypriots (39%) and Slovakians (39%) admitted “avoiding certain company” because of their fear of HIV, compared with just 2% of Dutch, 7% of Swedes and Danes and 9% of people from the UK.
Just 57% of people from the UK thought that national information campaigns informing people about HIV transmission risks had been effective. Compared to the 2002 survey, awareness has significantly and often systematically dropped in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, whereas awareness levels have substantially improved in Portugal and Germany.
Paul Ward, Deputy Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, commented that "many people are still ignorant about HIV, even though the epidemic is growing faster than ever. We know from our own research that young people particularly are misinformed about the most basic facts of HIV. More needs to be done both locally and nationally to educate people about the very real risk that HIV poses to our nation's health."
The full report can be downloaded from the European Commission's website.