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Pre-publication history The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/11/727/prepub doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-727 Cite this article as: Samkange-Zeeb et al.: Awareness and knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among school-going adolescents in Europe: a systematic review of published literature. BMC Public Health 2011 11:727. Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Central and take full advantage of: • Convenient online submission • Thorough peer review • No space constraints or color ﬁgure charges • Immediate publication on acceptance • Inclusion in PubMed, CAS, Scopus and Google Scholar • Research which is freely available for redistribution Submit your manuscript at www.biomedcentral.com/submit