Rising HIV notifications in Australia: accounting for the increase in people living with HIV and implications for the HIV transmission rate
Samitha Ginige A B , Marcus Y. Chen A C , Jane S. Hocking C , Andrew E. Grulich D and Christopher K. Fairley A D EA Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, 580 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia.
B Ministry of Health, No. 385, Rev Baddegama Wimalawansa Thero Mawatha Colombo 10, Sri Lanka.
C School of Population Health, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
D National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of New South Wales, 376 Victoria Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: cfairley@unimelb.edu.au
Sexual Health 4(1) 31-33 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH06015
Submitted: 28 February 2006 Accepted: 21 August 2006 Published: 26 February 2007
Abstract
Background: To describe the changes in notification rates for HIV, as a proportion of people living with HIV infection, in Australia. Methods: Notification data on HIV and AIDS-related deaths published by the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research were obtained and analysed for the period of 1988–2004. Results: The annual HIV notification rate per 100 people living with HIV fell significantly between 1988 and 1999 for all HIV cases and for men who have sex with men (MSM) specifically (P < 0.01). However, although there was an increase in HIV notifications between 2000 and 2004 (P = 0.01 for all HIV cases and P = 0.06 for MSM), the notification rate per 100 people living with HIV remained relatively stable (P = 0.6 for all HIV cases and P = 0.4 for MSM). Conclusions: These data suggest that despite significant rises in notifications for HIV, the effective reproductive rate for HIV has remained relatively stable since 1999.
Acknowledgements
M. C. and J. H. are supported by an NHMRC Fellowships (400399 and 359276 respectively). S. G. is supported by the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
