A study has indicated that the HIV rate for gay men in Washington was nearly five times higher than the overall rate for adults and teenagers in the city.

The D. C. HIV/AIDS Administration has said that more than 14 percent of the 500 gay men interviewed for the study were HIV positive as opposed to more than 3 percent of adults and teenagers.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that more than 40 percent of the gay men were unaware of their HIV status before they participated in the study, though most had seen a doctor within the last year.

Of those surveyed, younger men generally had safer sex behaviors, while men older than 30 were tested less frequently, had more sex partners and used condoms less. The study is a wakeup call, said City Council member David Catania, 42, who is gay.

Catania further said, "It's time for my generation to assume greater responsibility for themselves and their partners. Just because we escaped the epidemic of the 1980s doesn't mean we are immune." (With Inputs from Agencies)