Ghanaian youths drink bleach to cure AIDS - report

ACCRA, Ghana (Reuters) - Teen-agers in Ghana's rural areas think that HIV and AIDS can be cured by drinking bleach, a report said Thursday.

The report, released by a local non-governmental organization, said young people in some parts of the West African country believe drinking two drops of strong household bleach with water kills the virus.

Researchers also said there was a widespread belief among men over the age of 50 that AIDS was just a scare fabricated by developed countries to stop promiscuity.

Some thought condoms were "one of the many things the white man has produced to manipulate Africans."

"We need to work hard to correct such misconceptions quickly, otherwise the country's bid to stop the spread of the disease may be fruitless," said Yaw Nelson Sarpong, a member of the research team which conducted the survey on AIDS awareness for the African Women Educationists organization.

Some 40,000 Ghanaians, out of a total population of 18 million, have AIDS. An estimated four percent of people are infected with HIV, the virus which leads to the disease.