Queensland HIV up

Queensland HIV up

Queensland has recorded its fourth rise in HIV notifications in a row, although the rate of increase has slowed.Queensland Health received 150 reports of new HIV diagnoses last year, up from 137 the previous year. The figure has grown every year since 2001, but last year’s rise was about half the 19 percent increase seen in 2004.Queensland AIDS Council general manager Paul Martin told Sydney Star Observer there was no clear cause for the increase, but the growing number of recently infected people who did not know their HIV status could help explain the figures.Unsafe sex was also playing a role.We have seen increases in sex without condoms, both among men in relationships and with casual partners, Martin said.Queensland Health has not announced which groups recorded most new infections last year, but Martin said gay men in general accounted for 85 percent of new HIV cases.

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