Number of new HIV cases in Hong Kong set to reach record high for fourth year

[Annihilation]

Number of new HIV cases in Hong Kong set to reach record high for fourth year running

Government consultant warns number could pass 600 this year for the first time

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 26 August, 2014, 3:23pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 26 August, 2014, 6:04pm

Emily Tsang [email protected]

About 80 per cent of new cases between April and June were men. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

The number of new cases of HIV infections in Hong Kong is set to hit a record high for the fourth year running, says a government consultant who predicts this year’s figure could pass 600.

Some 304 new cases were diagnosed in the first half of this year, well up on the 262 new cases reported in the same period last year.

“It is worrying. It is likely that the annual figure will surge past 600, which will be the highest figure in Hong Kong history,” Dr Wong Ka-hing, a Department of Health consultant, said on Tuesday.

Last year 559 new cases were diagnosed in total, up on 513 the year before.

Of the 150 new cases reported between April and June this year, more than 80 per cent were men. About four in every 10 of those involved heterosexual sexual contact, while the same proportion involved homosexual sexual contact.

Almost 5 per cent of new cases were contracted through injections.

The 304 new cases this year brings the total number of reported HIV cases in the city since 1984 to 6,646.

One of the main reasons for the recent rise in new cases is the growing number of gay men contracting the virus, Wong said. That trend is consistent among gay men around the world, he said.

A department survey last year found the rate of condom use among men who have sex with men was at about 70 per cent.

Earlier this year Wong said that as well as more transmissions, the rise in infection could be a result of more people being tested.

There were 40 new cases of Aids reported between April and June this year, bringing the overall number of reported cases to 1,497.

Without treatment to repress HIV, it is estimated that about half of those infected will go on to develop Aids in 10 years. For those who receive treatment, the risk of developing Aids is reduced by 90 per cent.

Aids is characterised by major clinical complications related to suppressed immunity.