Estimated HK infection rate less than 0.1%, but more than 1 new case daily

Hong Kong has reported its first annual decrease since 2003 in the number of new cases of HIV infection.

However, the 396 new cases reported in 2009 represent a decline of only 39 cases over the previous year.

The consulting doctor for the Center for Health Protection of the Department of Health, Wong Ka-hing, said at a press conference yesterday that 76 AIDS cases were reported among the 396 new infections. The cumulative cases of HIV infection have reached a total of 4,443 since 1984, 1,106 of which have progressed to full-blown AIDS.

"Sexual contact was the major route of transmission this year," Wong said. Among the 396 new cases, 41 percent acquired the infection via homosexual or bisexual contact and 27 percent via heterosexual exposure. Only 4 percent were cases that resulted from sharing needles to inject drugs. In all the cumulative cases since 1984, sexual transmission accounts for 74.4 percent.

"The number of MSM (men having sex with men) transmission continues to show a rising trend. Most were infected locally," Wong said.

During the past decade, the number of heterosexual transmissions, however, has remained stable, and transmission through intravenous drug use shows a downward trend, he added.

Wong explained the trend is consistent with the pattern in most developed countries and areas. In the initial period of HIV infection in Hong Kong, the main transmission route was male to male sexual contact. Infections through heterosexual contact began to rise a few years later. During the past five to six years, the number of MSM cases has increased again. "Especially in 2009, the total cases decreased, while the number of MSM transmission didn't," he said.

He also indicated that the HIV infections in heterosexual men were most often diagnosed in public clinics and hospitals. Those infected through homosexual contact prefer private clinics and hospitals and non-government organizations, he added.

Among all HIV infections men occupy the vast majority, accounting for 80 percent of cases in 2009.

But Wong also noted the prevalence of the condition in Hong Kong is not cause for exaggerated concern. The estimated infection rate is less than 0.1 percent.

Loretta Wong, chief executive of AIDS Concern, believes the slight decline of HIV infection in 2009 is "a good sign but we still need to be cautious". "The number 396 still means more than one person was found HIV positive every single day," she said.

She also observed that about one fourth of the newly found cases are already in the middle stage of infection, or full-blown AIDS. "People should go for tests after any high-risk behavior as soon as possible; it is better to get treatment in the early stage," she said.

"AIDS nowadays is a controllable disease," she said, adding that the treatment methods in Hong Kong are very advanced, even better than many other developed area.

(HK Edition 03/03/2010 page1)