Australia’s rate of new HIV diagnoses remains near the highest level seen in the past 20 years. The University of New South Wales’ Kirby Institute Annual HIV Surveillance report shows that in 2013, 1235 new cases of the virus were diagnosed and reported, continuing similar infection rates from the previous year. Like New Zealand, by far the majority of people in Australia exposed to HIV infection are men who have sex with men. While the rates in the past two years have remained stable, the number of cases detected in 2013 represent a 70 per cent increase over the number of people detected in 1999, which was when diagnoses were at their lowest. A report into behavioural trends shows unprotected anal intercourse among casual male partners continues to be a key driver of HIV transmission among gay men in Australia. UNSW’s Centre for Social Research in Health found that in this group, rates of unprotected anal intercourse with casual partners have increased over the past decade. More than 35 per cent of men with casual partners in the six months prior to the survey reported the practice, with rates close to 60 per cent among HIV-positive men with casual partners. The annual HIV testing rate among gay men who are not HIV positive is around 60 per cent – a rate which is falling, particularly among those under 25. “Innovative and concerted efforts are urgently needed to reduce a new wave of HIV infection particularly among young gay men,” says the report co-author, Dr Limin Mao. The information has been released at the Kirby Symposium, a satellite event of the 20th International AIDS Conference which begins in Melbourne on Sunday. The latest research also shows around one in seven Australians with HIV do not know they have the virus and there are large numbers of people continuing to be diagnosed late. Around 30 per cent are diagnosed well after they should have started treatment to restore their damaged immune system. “In some cases, people are living for several years without knowing they are HIV-positive,” said the Kirby Institute’s Associate Professor David Wilson. “This is a double concern: for their own health and that they could be passing the virus on to others. “If people wait a long time before getting diagnosed, or if they do not start treatment once diagnosed, it is not as easy to recover.” There are now an estimated 26,800 people living with HIV in Australia.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 17th July 2014 - 1:31pm