Teens Still Woefully Ignorant About HIV Risk

iStock/Thinkstock(ATLANTA) — Teens think they know it all but what they don’t know about HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can really come back to hurt them.

A survey by MAC AIDS Fund, which supports people who are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, finds 88 percent of its 1,000 respondents ages 12 to 17 believe they’re not at risk of contracting HIV.

This is particularly disconcerting since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the 13-24 age group makes up 25 percent of new HIV cases annually. What’s more, six in ten of those infected aren’t aware they’ve contracted the disease.

Meanwhile, the MAC AIDS Fund survey reveals just how misinformed many teens are about HIV with a third not understanding that it’s a sexually transmitted disease.

Another disturbing revelation from the poll: just over seven in ten know that condom use helps to blunt the spread of HIV while under fifty percent realize that they can help prevent an infection by having sex with just one partner.

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