Nearly 50% of people ages 15 years and older living in the European Union continue to have misconceptions about how HIV is transmitted, according to a survey released on Monday by the European Commission, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The survey was conducted from Sept. 2, 2005, through Oct. 6, 2005, and from Nov. 5, 2005, through Dec. 7, 2005 among 24,000 E.U. residents ages 15 and older living in the E.U.'s 25 member nations (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 10/2). According to the survey, 54% of respondents said that HIV can be transmitted through kissing, and 45% of the respondents said that sharing drinking glasses or toilet seats with or donating blood to HIV-positive people can result in transmission, Xinhua News Agency reports. Most of the respondents said they know that eating meals prepared by, shaking hands with or holding objects touched by HIV-positive people cannot result in HIV transmission.
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