AIDS spreading at alarming rate: G-G

1 Dec 2009, 4:15 pm   -   Source: AAP
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The Governor-General is urging Australians not to be complacent about the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus, with new infections increasing at an "alarming rate".

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Governor-General Quentin Bryce has warned Australians not to be complacent about the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus, with new infections increasing at an "alarming rate".

Speaking at a luncheon to mark the 21st World AIDS Day, Ms Bryce said a rise in infections showed the battle against the deadly disease was far from over.

According to the latest statistics from the University of NSW, 995 Australians were diagnosed with HIV in 2008.

The figure was a slight fall from the previous year but about 40 per cent higher than the cases recorded in 1999.

"Whilst our initial response to HIV/AIDS in Australia was robust and radical in many ways, the number of new cases of HIV infection has increased at an alarming rate over the past several years," Ms Bryce told the lunch in Sydney.

"There can be no room for complacency. The situation we face in 2009 remains extremely serious."

The latest estimate is that 33 million people globally are now either HIV positive or have AIDS, with about 17,000 of them living in Australia.

More than 25 million around the world have died from an AIDS-related illness since the disease first emerged in 1981.

Just under 7,000 Australians had lost their lives to AIDS by the end of 2008.

According to the Lowy Institute, Australians aged 15 to 24 were most blase about unprotected sex and, therefore, at greater risk of contracting the disease.

Director of the institute's HIV/AIDS project, Bill Bowtell, said the 15-24 age group were too young to remember the grim-reaper campaign of the 1980s, and were emboldened by a false sense of security.

"If you don't see HIV in your peer group, you think it's gone away and, therefore, you don't need to take any precautions. So people tend to have more unprotected sex," he said.

"But the more people there are that think that, the bigger the problem will become.

"So you shouldn't have sex without a condom."

Mr Bowtell said the issue was not adequately addressed by some schools.

"I've noticed in some of the Catholic schools and others, people make the entirely ridiculous assumption that you can tell young people that abstinence is the only way to go ... If they don't have sex they won't get HIV," Mr Bowtell said.

"We have a responsibility to tell the truth to young people and to advocate the things that we know will work."

CEO of support group ACON, Nicolas Parkhill, said the 21st World AIDS Day marked a "coming of age" for the fight against the disease.

"Life-saving medical advances have eased the horror of the early years of the epidemic, also the HIV partnership between government, research and community organisations here in NSW has ensured that our state is one of the only places in the world where HIV transmission rates have remained stable for over 10 years," Mr Parkhill said in a statement.

"However, over 10,000 people in NSW are living with HIV and an average of at least one new infection is diagnosed in NSW every day.

"And despite the improved treatments, many of these people are financially and socially disadvantaged by their need for complex and ongoing support.

"The reality is that HIV/AIDS remains a major health issue in NSW, as it does throughout Australia and all over the world."

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