Kevin Hague speaking on the Bill at Parliament A Bill which will make HIV a notifiable disease has passed its first reading. The Health (Protection) Amendment Bill will mean health professionals will be required to report details, but not identities, of people diagnosed with HIV. Currently AIDS is notifiable, but HIV infection itself is not. Gonorrhoea and syphilis infections will similarly be added to the list of notifiable diseases if the bill passes. The proposed changes have been in the works for some years and HIV prevention, support and advocacy organisations were extensively canvassed on the issues as far back as 2007. The New Zealand AIDS Foundation says making HIV a notifiable disease will be extremely helpful to its work, and people should not be concerned about their privacy being breached. It says for most people, the law just catches up on what is already happening voluntarily through doctors and other people who administer tests - for example a positive diagnosis of HIV will be notified without identifying information about the individual. Making HIV a notifiable disease also sees it covered by Health Act provisions under which health authorities can intervene with greater powers if a person with an infectious disease is not taking sufficient steps to prevent onward transmission to others. The formal process of contact tracing, whereby those who may have been unwittingly infected can be tracked down and advised of their situation, will now apply to HIV. During the first reading, Gay Green MP and former New Zealand AIDS Foundation Executive Director Kevin Hague touched on how outdated the current laws are, but also told the House striking the right balance was very important. “When contact tracing becomes compulsory, as it does under this Bill, there certainly is a restriction on the liberty and on the rights of the person who is being required to reveal, for example, who their sexual contacts have been,” he said. Hague said it will be important in select committee stage to look at whether mandatory contact tracing will enhance or inhibit the ability of health authorities to actually get the information. “If someone knows that they may be required to reveal who their sexual contacts have been, they may not present for treatment. They may not present to health services. That has been our experience. So striking the balance correctly is going to be very important.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 7th November 2014 - 10:42am