NSW: Fewer men testing HIV+
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 10:58AM NSW’s LGBT heath agency ACON has today welcomed lower-than-ever HIV infection figures, but admits its concerns about low HIV testing rates.
ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill says surveillance data released today by NSW Health reported 305 new HIV diagnoses in 2010 compared with 329 in 2009. Consistent with the historical trend, most cases in 2010 (230) were attributed to sex between men compared with 235 cases in 2009 and 246 in 2008.
“This is actually the lowest number of annual cases recorded among gay men in NSW since HIV testing began and we are committed to working with the NSW HIV prevention partnership and our community to ensure that stability turns into sustained decline.
While 72% of respondents to the February 2011 Sydney Gay Community Periodic Survey reported an HIV test in the previous twelve months, however, among guys actually diagnosed with HIV in NSW in 2010, the reported rate of annual testing was much lower.
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