As we acknowledge the 19th World AIDS Day on December 1st, it is an opportune time to reflect on the state of play of the local epidemic in WA. As previously reported, WA’s HIV epidemic is somewhat different to that experienced elsewhere in Australia. In WA, gay men and men who have sex with men are less than 50% of new diagnoses compared with the rest of Australia where overwhelmingly gay men and men who have sex with men remain most at risk of acquiring HIV. In the past ten months, there have been 59 people diagnosed with HIV in WA (46 men and 13 women). Of these, 28 were heterosexual (16 men and 12 women) and 25 men were homosexual or bisexual. One child acquired HIV through his mother and no one reported injecting as a source of exposure. There were 5 who had not reported their exposure risk. So what are the reasons for this phenomenon?

- Advertisement -

Amongst gay men and men who have sex with men, new HIV diagnoses numbers have increased slightly over time. This appears to be consistent with men taking calculated risks and an increase in unprotected anal sex with casual partners. An increase in the prevalence of other STIs in gay men and men who have sex with men may also be responsible for this increase.

For heterosexual people, WA’s geographical location in a region with high HIV prevalence appears to be a significant factor. Many WA people travel extensively, spending work and leisure time in Asia. For instance, people from WA travel to Thailand and Indonesia twice as frequently as people from the rest of Australia. The resource industry boom in WA is one of the leading factors in this trend and as this is projected to last for many more years, international travel and therefore risk is expected to increase. In addition, WA’s close links with the region mean that there is large number of overseas students from high prevalence countries undertaking secondary and tertiary study in WA.

In WA for the past three to four years we have seen an increasing trend in diagnoses of HIV amongst heterosexual people where HIV exposure has occurred overseas rather than locally. For instance, if we look at 2007 figures, 28% of the 25 gay men acquired HIV overseas compared to 75% of the 16 heterosexual men and 92.3% of the 13 heterosexual women. That said, gay men and men who have sex with men still need to remain vigilant about using condoms during sex overseas as well as in Australia. Gay men also need to be aware of the added risks of getting a sexually transmissible infection such as gonorrhea, chlamydia or syphilis which are often transmitted via oral sex. WA is currently in the midst of a world wide syphilis epidemic amongst gay men, which is particularly relevant for HIV positive men who may experience worse health outcomes.

So what is the WA AIDS Council doing about this? Firstly we remain absolutely committed to ensuring that gay men and men who have sex with men have the skills, knowledge and information to make informed decisions about their health and to reduce their risk of acquiring HIV or other STIs in Perth or elsewhere. Guys are encouraged to look at www.projectx.com.au where up to date information services are outlined. We are also building up the access to gay friendly testing and treatment services and encouraging regular sexual health screenings. Secondly, WAAC is investigating a number of strategies aimed at international travellers and people working in resource industries, one of which will be placing HIV awareness advertisements in in-flight magazines in the next six months. Last, but not least, we are rolling out a multimedia ‘Safe sex, No regrets’ campaign aimed at reducing HIV and STIs in young people. Take your time to examine www.safesexnoregrets.com.au and look for the advertisements on television.

—

OUTinPerth apologises to Trish Langdon for the incorrect spelling of her name in the print version of this article.