It seems there is still confusion around HIV transmission.

Of the more than 1,000 people questioned in a new survey in Scotland recently, 54 per cent were unable to correctly identify all of the ways HIV is and is not transmitted from a list of possible routes.

According to the online survey, one in 10 (11 per cent) wrongly believe it can be passed by kissing, 3 per cent think it can be spread by sharing a glass an 2 per cent that it is spread by touching a public toilet seat.

Almost a quarter (23 per cent) were unaware that someone with the disease can live for more than 20 years, while 15 per cent mistakenly thought someone with HIV cannot have a baby who is HIV negative.

The positive side is that the study found that 87 per cent of the respondents had sympathy for those with the disease.

But nonetheless 3 out of 4 Scots (73 per cent) thought more needed to be done to tackle stigma and prejudice against people living with HIV in Scotland.

Stigma which can include everything from being rejected by friends, family or partners to being physically assaulted.

The charity Waverley Care commissioned YouGov to carry out the survey as part of its ‘Always Hear’ campaign. It runs a website that aims to give you a better understanding of what it’s like for people living with HIV, using – very moving – real-life stories.

The findings were released as part of a campaign, backed by HIV activist singer Annie Lennox, aiming to tackle the stigma around HIV in Scotland, where HIV affects almost 6,000 people.

Lennox said: “Stigma is one of the biggest challenges facing the diagnosis and treatment of HIV in Scotland and around the world today.

“HIV treatment has improved dramatically over the last 20 years, but discrimination of the condition still means that people are scared to get tested.

“HIV stigma fuels people’s fear to test, which in turn leads to new infections as people don’t know whether they have HIV or not.”

Grant Sugden, Waverley Care’s chief executive, said, “It’s vital that more time and effort is spent educating the public so that we can hear the truth about HIV, eradicate the fear and ultimately put an end to the stigma that surrounds the condition.”

According to National AIDS Trust (NAT), figures for the whole of the UK show that of those receiving HIV care in 2011, 36,355 were exposed through sex between a man and a woman, 31,825 were exposed through sex between men, 1,636 were exposed from injecting drug use, 1,488 were exposed from mother-to-child transmission and 533 were exposed from blood/receiving blood products

And according to the Terence Higgins Trust, nearly half (47 per cent) of people diagnosed with HIV in 2011 were diagnosed late, after they should have begun treatment.

Condoms, HIV testing, antiretroviral medication and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) mean the UK does already have the tools needed to actually reach an end point of the HIV/AIDS epidemic – but getting there in practice is a huge challenge.

David Furnish, chairman of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, told the London Evening Standard that from 22 – 29 November, when it is National HIV Testing Week, “We need a big national push to get ourselves and our friends tested — without stigma, without shame and without stalling.”