BBC News - Saturday, 1 December, 2001
The organisation says that schools are doing a better job of informing young people about the disease - but parents could do more.
It is using World Aids Day to remind families that education at home is one of the most important ways of preventing the condition.
About 60 million people worldwide are now thought to have been infected with the HIV virus which causes Aids.
This year alone the number of people contracting the disease in Scotland has gone up by 135.
Of those, 19 were aged between 15 and 24.
HEBS is concerned that many Scots, particularly the young, are no longer alert to the risk of Aids.
Interviews with more than 60,000 15-year-olds suggested that while there was a rise in the number of young people discussing Aids in the classroom, there was a significant decrease in those talking about it with their parents.
Deaths down
The health body says this is an issue that must be addressed if the number of Aids cases north of the border is to be kept to a minimum.
It is now urging parents to be more proactive in discussing the dangers of infection with their children.
Despite the increase in the number of people contracting the disease in Scotland the number of deaths has dropped dramatically.
So far this year 10 people have died compared to a high of 115 back in 1995.
But HEBS argues that this should not give way to complacency as the fall is largely due to the increasing effectiveness of drugs in delaying the onset of full-blown Aids.
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