FRIDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDayNews) -- Nearly three out of four people who have HIV/AIDS don't reveal their health status to casual sex partners.

That disturbing news comes from a study by Tulane University researchers in the September issue of Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

The survey of 269 HIV-positive people in New Orleans also found that nearly 75 percent of people with HIV/AIDS do tell their long-term partners about their health status.

"Our results show us that those who do share their HIV status with family, friends and sex partners may wait until the disease has progressed to a point where they are feeling sick," senior author Patty Kissinger, associate professor of epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, says in a news statement.

She says the survey also found adolescents were less likely than adults to share their HIV status with their main sex partner, family member or relative.

"Clearly we need to improve our system of partner notification and teach patients the skills to talk to their partners about HIV status," Kissinger says.

The survey revealed that: 74.2 percent of the HIV-positive respondents disclosed their status to their main sex partner; 24.8 percent told their casual sex partner(s); 69.8 percent told a family member; 27 percent told a more distant relative; and 26.4 percent told a friend.

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--Robert Preidt

SOURCE: Tulane University, news release, September 2003

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