UK people are still alarmingly ignorant about HIV, finds a survey published yesterday by Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) to mark the 25th anniversary of Terry Higgins' death with what was then Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (now AIDS) in St. Thomas' Hospital, London, in 1982. The survey of 1,000 adults aged 18 and over found that more than one in ten 18–24 year-olds think HIV can be passed on through kissing; almost a quarter of those surveyed believe that condoms have holes in them which let HIV through; and more than one in five 1 –24 year-olds think there is a cure for HIV. “It's frightening that 25 years after Terry Higgins' death, this level of confusion exists,” said Nick Partridge, chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust. “The lack of good sex education means many young people are leaving school ignorant about HIV and safer sex. “HIV is now the fastest growing serious health condition in the UK, and there is no cure. It's time to get our facts straight,” he insisted. Knowledge about HIV is not only poor among young people. Across all age groups 28% of people either thought that condoms had holes in which let HIV through or said they didn't know, 12% thought that sharing cutlery carried a risk of HIV transmission and 10% thought you can be infected through sweat. Crucially, just 36% of respondents thought they received good sex education at school. 25 years ago yesterday, Terry Higgins was among the first people to die with AIDS in the UK. He was a reporter for Hansard, the official record of the British Parliament, and a part-time barman at the Heaven nightclub. He had been suffering from weight-loss and headaches for some time, but did not know what was wrong. It was at Heaven where he collapsed. He was taken to St. Thomas' Hospital where he died two weeks later after being kept in isolation. The cause of death was recorded as from pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and primary multifocal leukoencephalopathy. He was 37 years old. Since then, over 17,000 others have died and there are now over 70,000 people living with HIV in the UK. Contrary to popular perceptions that the epidemic has gone away, more people than ever before were newly diagnosed with HIV in 2006. Groups most at risk of HIV in the UK continue to be gay men and the African community. Ref: UK Gay News (m)