HK Sees Drop In New HIV Cases, But Rise In Aids

The Centre for Health Protection on Tuesday called for vigilance over the health threat posed by HIV, despite a drop in the number of reported new cases in Hong Kong last year.

The centre said there were 624 reported new cases of HIV in 2018 – 57 fewer than were reported the year before and down about 13 percent from a peak in 2015.

A consultant with the centre, Dr Kenny Chan, said greater awareness among high-risk communities and higher diagnosis rates and treatment coverage are helping drive this decline.

But he said it was too early to predict if this trend will continue.

"HIV reports are not seasonal, it's not like influenza where we can predict which quarter you are going to see the highest number," Chan said.

"I'm a little bit frustrated to see that actually, in recent quarters, we are seeing a steadying of the numbers. If it was really a good falling trend, we should be able to see a continuous drop."

Although the number of new cases of HIV dropped in 2018, there was an increase in Aids cases, with the 139 reported the highest figure since 1984.

However, Chan said the rise was expected.

He said it takes about 10 years for an untreated HIV infection to develop into Aids and Hong Kong experienced an unprecedented number of HIV infections a decade ago.