Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press; Saturday, November 23, 1991
On each of five basic questions about the AIDS virus, how it is transmitted and how it can be treated, Floridians demonstrated less knowledge than other Americans.
The study, released by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, covered 44 states and Washington, D.C. The survey included 2,143 Floridians.
A smaller percentage of Floridians had heard the virus that causes AIDS referred to as HIV -- for human immunodeficiency virus -- than residents of most other states. Fewer Floridians were aware that drugs can lengthen the life of a person with the virus. Fewer Floridians knew that a person with the virus can look and feel healthy.
And more Florida residents believed incorrectly that they could become infected by donating blood or by being bitten by an insect.
Steve Kindland, a spokesman for Florida's AIDS prevention program, said he was distressed by the results.
"I'm really disappointed about the news about insect bites and donating blood," he said. "That's basic information that we've been putting out for several years."
The differences between the percentage of Floridians answering the questions correctly and the medians -- the numbers at which half the states were higher and half were lower -- were small.
But 18,731 Florida residents had been diagnosed with AIDS as of Oct. 31, more cases than in any other state except New York and California and nearly 10 percent of the national total. In the past year, there were about 40 AIDS cases per 100,000 people in Florida, more than double the national rate.
Copyright 1991/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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Copyright © 1991 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
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