Australia now 鈥榝ree鈥 of AIDS epidemic
Print Edition
AUSTRALIA yesterday declared that the AIDS epidemic is no longer a public health issue in the country, a month after the United Nations adopted an ambitious target to eliminate the threat globally by 2030.
The government-backed Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations and top scientists said the number of people being diagnosed with AIDS in Australia was now so small it was no longer reported.
AIDS cases in Australia peaked in 1994, at 953 cases, the Kirby Institute for infection and immunity in society said.
Since then, following the introduction of antiretroviral treatment, that prevent AIDS developing in people who are infected with the HIV virus, and awareness campaigns, AIDS diagnoses have declined sharply.
“Australia is incredibly fortunate to be in the position and it’s because of far-sighted government policy,” said Darryl O’Donnell, chief executive AFAO. “We had community organizations of gay men, sex workers and drug users doing outreach campaigns that were extraordinarily effective.”
A spokeswoman for the Federal Department of Health said while it was tremendous that AIDS was “not the automatic death sentence that it once was,” approximately 1,100 cases of HIV are detected each year. “We must not let down our guard.”
Worldwide there are 36.7 million people living with HIV, according to the World Health Organization, with 180,000 people dying from AIDS-related illness in the Asia-Pacific region last year.
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