A reduced level of New Zealand gay and bisexual HIV diagnoses reported in 2006 has been maintained for 2007, figures released today by the AIDS Epidemiology Group indicate. Graph shows numbers of people diagnosed with HIV in NZ by year of diagnosis: Red indicates infection through homosexual contact, light blue means heterosexual contact, and orange denotes unknown cause of infection. 156 new HIV diagnoses were recorded in 2007, with 71 of these being men who were infected through sex with another man. The majority of the diagnoses (75%) were infections that were reported to have occurred in New Zealand. The average age of diagnosis was 41, with most of the men being European (72%), and living in the North Island (87%), mostly in Auckland. "Diagnoses among gay and bisexual men reached a peak in 2005, and came down in 2006, which was encouraging," says Eamonn Smythe, Acting Executive Director of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation. "Although we are pleased there has not been an increase, it is unfortunate that we have not seen a further reduction this year. These numbers are still equivalent to one new diagnosis every five days. "The type of gay or bisexual man most at risk of HIV infection has not changed now in the last several years – those being hit hardest by this epidemic are older, white, and living in urban centres," Smythe says. "However, we mustn't forget that – as ever – men from a wide number of age groups and ethnicities were diagnosed with HIV in 2007, including men under 30, men over 50, men of Maori, Asian and African descent. It's not who you are but what you do that counts for HIV infection. Always using condoms for anal sex is the best defence any gay or bisexual man has against HIV." The AIDS Epidemiology Group has also highlighted concerns over the level of undiagnosed HIV in its latest report, emphasising the importance of HIV testing. It is estimated that there around 1500 people with HIV in New Zealand, of whom 340 are undiagnosed. "We recommend sexually active gay and bisexual men have themselves screened for HIV and other STIs every six months," Smythe says. "New Zealand AIDS Foundation centres provide a free and confidential rapid HIV testing service which will give you a result back within twenty minutes. "However, it is important to remember that HIV is most infectious during its first few weeks, before it will show up on any test. HIV is largely a sexually transmitted virus that will infect its host unless there is a physical barrier put in its way. This is why condoms have been so effective in preventing HIV transmission for over twenty years."