According to recent findings, more than half of men and almost a third of women older than 70 reported they were still getting busy, with a third of all respondents reporting having frequent sex.

But many older folks believe that because of their age, they’re not at risk of sexually transmitted infections. Not so, caution officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“The reality is that Americans aged 50 and older have many of the same HIV risk factors as younger Americans,” says the CDC. This means some older folks also aren’t well informed about HIV or how to prevent transmission, use condoms inconsistently, and may have multiple partners.

The agency reports that 217,300 of the estimated 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States in 2010 were age 55 and older. In addition, the CDC states that “older Americans are more likely than younger Americans to be diagnosed with HIV infection later in the course of their disease.”

The statistics were alarming enough for researchers to stress that health professionals should become more open to discussing sexual health with their older patients.

Say infectious disease scientists, when it comes to older folks and HIV transmission, doctors can’t simply assume that seniors are no longer engaging in sexual activities.