Young people believe HIV can be cured

There is a false belief among young people infected with the HIV virus that their condition can be successfully treated, according to a leading scientist.

This attitude is in turn resulting in a rise in infection levels, Dr Veerakathy Harindra, an HIV specialist in Portsmouth, told the BBC.

Dr Harindra said that a quarter of the young people he sees believe that the HIV virus can be cured and the number of people diagnosed with the virus at his clinic has more than doubled since 2001.

"Among the young people about 20 per cent to 25 per cent have a feeling that HIV is a curable disease and that stems from the fact that they see a lot of patients who are doing extremely well on current treatment," he told BBC Radio Five Live.

"The young patients that we see of course see the wellbeing of an HIV positive friend and assume that everything is well and it's cured."