Ignorance About HIV Still Rampant, Survey Finds
Though HIV awareness in the nation has improved over the last two years, nearly half of the Estonian population is still worried about contracting the disease through non-existent channels such as kissing, mosquito bites and sharing a drinking glass, according to the Healthy Estonia Foundation.
However, a poll conducted by TNS Emor for the Enterprises Against HIV coalition found that 41 percent of respondents did not believe it was possible that they or anyone close to them could become infected with the virus, a rise of 14 percent since 2010.
TNS Emor senior analyst Esta Kaal said that the relative lack of fear about contracting HIV might be connected with increased awareness of how it is spread, which is giving respondents a sense of security.
"On the other hand, this sense of security could be dangerous if the knowledge is too general or if people don't share it. An unwarranted sense of confidence should be avoided and efforts should be made to make sure information about the spread of the disease is available to the public," she said.
The survey also found that 65 percent of those polled had not broached the subject of HIV with their children or their partners, uudised.err.ee reported.
On the positive side, the number of people who have had themselves tested for the virus has increased from 23 percent to 31 percent over the last two years.
Estonia has one of Europe's highest rates of HIV prevalence, with nearly 7,900 cases registered as of last July.
Steve Roman