SYDNEY, Sept. 24, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) – HIV diagnoses in Australia have hit a
seven-year low, with the drop mainly among homosexual and bisexual men while
those involving heterosexuals have actually increased by 10 percent in the
last five years, latest figures from a major study showed.
“The good news from the report is there’s been a 7 percent decline in HIV
diagnoses in the past five years, with 953 diagnoses in 2017, which compares
to over 1,000 in previous years,” Professor Rebecca Guy from the Kirby
Institute medical research group at the University of New South Wales,
Sydney, said in a briefing on its findings released on Monday.
“What’s interesting this year is the decline has not been equal across all
populations.”
The declines were attributed to higher coverage of HIV testing and
treatment in the country, “two important strategies to reduce HIV in the
community”, she said.
Still, while there was a downward trend in diagnoses in recent years, the
rise in cases among heterosexuals meant that more tailored strategies were
needed to meet the challenges posed by the disease, according to the report.
HIV diagnoses rates in the indigenous population were also twice those of the
non-indigenous population.
“The key message is, for people living with HIV, it’s a whole new world,”
Associate Professor Limin Mao from the UNSW Centre for Social Research in
Health said of the progress and advances of HIV treatment and prevention,
with increasing tendency for more frequent testing becoming “an established
norm.”