HIV rises as men admit unprotected sex

HIV diagnoses are rising at a record rate as an increasing number of gay Australians admit having unprotected casual sex, according to two major reports.

An annual surveillance report says 1253 people were diagnosed in 2012 and around 30,000 infected people know they have the virus. But the 10 to 25 per cent of infected people who do not know their status is a challenge, says lead author, Associate Professor David Wilson of the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). “We need to focus on getting people diagnosed and initiating therapy to improve their health and reduce the risk of transmission,” says Prof Wilson, whose report will be presented at the Australasian HIV and AIDS Conference in Darwin on Monday. Another report to be presented at the conference shows close to 40 per cent of gay men admit having unprotected casual sex at least once in 2012. “We’re at the highest level recorded in our surveys of gay and bisexual men,” says lead author Associate Professor John de Wit, director of the UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH). The biggest increase is among those aged under 25, who are less likely to have been exposed to HIV-prevention campaigns. He says about 10 per cent of gay men are HIV-positive and many do not know their status. There has been a significant increase in the proportion of HIV-positive people being treated with antiretroviral therapy, according to his report. And the treatment is working, with 93 per cent of patients having an undetectable viral load, compared with 74 per cent in 2003. “But the prevention benefits of treatment are being offset by increases in risk-taking since treatment became available,” he says. “I would not call it complacency. People know it is serious. But they take risks in the heat of the moment.” The report shows an increasing number of gay men are prepared to disclose their status to casual partners, but many do not know their status and this is unlikely to be as effective as consistent condom use. Treatment levels could be as low as 50 per cent, says Robert Mitchell, president of the National Association of People with HIV Australia. “Australia needs a new National HIV Strategy to replace the current one which is completely out of date.”

HIV nurse slams Australia needle danger

AUSTRALIA is way behind the US and Europe in protecting medical workers from sharp objects, says a former US nurse who contracted HIV and hepatitis C through a needle injury.

Dr Karen Daley, in Melbourne to attend a nursing conference, says it is “surprising and distressing” that Australia does not have safety regulations.

The US made safety devices mandatory in 2001, and the UK and European Union also have regulations.

Around 18,000 Australians, mainly nurses, report needle injuries each year, according to 2008 figures.

Although individual hospitals are making an effort to improve safety, “there is limited progress in making safe devices available to the workforce”, Dr Daley says.

“It is distressing to find that a wealthy, forward-thinking country like Australia, with a first-class health system, is so far behind.”

Dr Daley, who has a PhD in nursing, has been campaigning for safety since she was infected by a needle protruding from a container in 1998.

“At the beginning I didn’t know if I would survive. What I did know was that my injury was preventable.”

Needle injuries are among the most prevalent and potentially most dangerous injuries in medical settings.

Dr Daley, president of the American Nurses Association, says a major international concern is safety in the operating theatre, but surgeons can be resistant to change.

“It is important the whole team gets engaged in the conversation.”

Australian safety campaigner Anne Trimmer says there are a number of devices that significantly reduce the risk of injuries.

A report by the Medical Technology Association of Australia shows around three-quarters of injuries could be prevented through the use of safety-engineered medical devices, she says.

Lee Thomas, the federal secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation, says the health sector should align its safety protocols with legislation that requires the use of engineering controls to eliminate foreseeable workplace hazards.

“Hospitals and the health sector need to take up the challenge to be proactive in protecting their staff,” she says, calling for safety-engineered devices to be made available “sooner rather than later”.