Australia Yearbook - 2001

346 Year Book Australia 2001
north Queensland. Rubella and measles
notifications declined and measles rates
remained lower than in the outbreak years of
1993 and 1994. Since surveillance began in 1991,
a record low was attained for Haemophilus
influenzae type b notifications in 1998. Pertussis
notifications also declined in 1998 after an
outbreak which peaked toward the end of 1997
(Thomson et al. 1999).
HIV and AIDS
In collaboration with the State and Territory health
authorities and the Commonwealth Government,
surveillance for human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS) is conducted by the National Centre in HIV
Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR).
This centre is part of the Faculty of Medicine,
University of New South Wales and is funded
primarily by the Commonwealth Department of
Health and Aged Care through the Australian
National Council on AIDS and Related Diseases
(ANCARD).
By the end of 1999, it was estimated that 20,122
HIV cases, 8,362 AIDS diagnoses and 5,850 deaths
following AIDS had occurred in Australia (table
9.24). Surveillance indicates that AIDS incidence
peaked during 1994 and a steady decline was
observed from 1994 to 1996. This decline can be
attributed to the fall in HIV transmission in the
mid 1980s and the introduction of more effective
antiretroviral therapy for the treatment of HIV
infection in the mid 1990s. By the end of 1999,
approximately 12,000 people were estimated to
be living with HIV infection in Australia.
HIV infection continues to overwhelmingly affect
males (94%), and disease transmission continues
to predominantly occur by sexual contact
between men, accounting for about 78% of all
HIV transmission in Australia (table 9.25 and
graph 9.26). Between 1991 and 1999, both the
total annual number of new cases of HIV and the
annual number of male homosexually acquired
cases declined. Although the proportion of new
cases acquired through heterosexual contact has
increased over this period, peaking in 1998, the
number of these new cases has remained
relatively stable at 140 to 190 per year.
9.24 NEWLY DIAGNOSED HIV CASES(a)(b), AIDS CASES AND DEATHS FOLLOWING DIAGNOSIS—to 1999
Year of diagnosis
Prior to
1991 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Total
no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no.
HIV cases(a) 11 247 1 418 1 238 1 092 1 029 941 925 794 722 699 20 122
AIDS cases(b) 2 623 804 788 844 955 805 657 375 315 196 8 362
AIDS deaths(b) 1 572 586 600 695 735 652 505 236 157 112 5 850
(a) Not adjusted for multiple reporting. Total includes 17 cases for which the date of HIV diagnosis was not reported. (b) AIDS
cases and deaths following AIDS in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 were adjusted for reporting delays; AIDS cases and deaths in
previous years were assumed to be completely reported.
Source: HIV/AIDS and Related Diseases in Australia, Annual Surveillance Report 1999, National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and
Clinical Research.