Immoral homosexuality is simply unhealthy
 |
| English: Location of Queensland on Australia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Dr Andrew Redmond from HIV Foundation Queensland says the statistics are alarming. "It's only provisional figures at this stage and we will have more reliable data by the end of the year," he said.
"Why we're getting more positives now it's hard to know."We're really trying to test people who are of high risk of HIV, and it's certainly possible that if we're going to test people of high risk, we're going to get more positive tests or it might be the rates are just really going up. "It's very difficult to know."
Last year, Queensland was the first state to roll out free rapid HIV tests, where a person knows their HIV status within 30 minutes. Dr Redmond says the vast majority of new HIV notifications are among Australian-born men who have sex with other men.
The Queensland Aids Council is also concerned about the latest hike in notifications and says it could be the result of increased testing.
But spokesman John Mikelsons says the safe sex message is no longer effective."Gay men have been bombarded with the stay safe message about condoms and safe sex for years," he said.
"The message and the way it's delivered needs constant refreshing so it's meaningful to them in a way that doesn't blame gay men for the increase. "It also needs to talk in a way which is going to resonate with gay men."
Testing and early treatment considered crucial
Nine per cent of all gay men in Queensland are HIV positive. Queensland's HIV rate has doubled in the past decade, with three quarters of those diagnosed being men who sleep with other men.
Mr Mikelsons says an increasing number of men are reporting not using condoms with casual partners. Testing and early treatment are considered crucial as treatments can ensure better health outcomes and dramatically reduce the risk of passing on the virus.
"There's trials in Australia of a treatment which is already available in the US. It's a pre-exposure prophylaxis," Mr Mikelsons said."It's a once-a-day pill that significantly reduces your risk of contracting HIV down to almost zero. It should be available in Australia soon."
The HIV foundation says $1.69 million has been budgeted for the END HIV campaign in Queensland this year. It is a three-year project focused on HIV education, awareness, stigma, testing treatment and prevention.
