Sydney sexual health: residents urged to take HIV tests

Southern Sydney residents have been urged to test for HIV ahead of HIV Awareness Week. The South Eastern Sydney Local Health District has reminded people to take advantage of high quality HIV testing options as the number of new diagnoses declines.

Southern Sydney residents have been urged to get tested for HIV during HIV Awareness Week.

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Southern Sydney residents have been urged to test for HIV ahead of HIV Awareness Week.

The South Eastern Sydney Local Health District has reminded people to take advantage of high quality HIV testing options as the number of new diagnoses declines.

St George Hospital’s Short Street Sexual Health Centre director Josephine Lusk said NSW was on track to significantly reduce HIV transmission by 2020.

The number of new diagnoses dropped by 23.9 per cent between January and September 2018 compared to the average number in the same period for the past five years.

“We want to see this downward trend continue and urge anyone at risk of HIV to ensure they are regularly tested,” Dr Lusk said.

“Once a person is diagnosed, they can start treatment early, improve their health and prevent the virus from being passed on to others.”

The NSW HIV Data Report indicates this year 191 NSW residents were diagnosed with HIV, compared to an average of 249 for the same period in the past five years.

The number of Australian-born men having sex with men who were diagnosed with early-stage HIV dropped by 42 per cent this year compared to the five-year average.

Dr Lusk said preventive medications such as PrEP were available on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

“This reduction is due to more people seeking early testing and treatment, as well as the

introduction of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV (PrEP),” Dr Lusk said.

“The highly successful NSW Health EPIC-NSW trial made PrEP available to 9414 people at risk of HIV from March 2016 to April 2018.”

For information on HIV testing, visit health.nsw.gov.au/hiv-test.