HIV diagnoses are rising at a record rate as an increasing number of gay Australians admit having unprotected casual sex, according to two major reports.
An annual surveillance report says 1253 people were diagnosed in 2012 and around 30,000 infected people know they have the virus.
But the 10 to 25 per cent of infected people who do not know their status is a challenge, says lead author, Associate Professor David Wilson of the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
"We need to focus on getting people diagnosed and initiating therapy to improve their health and reduce the risk of transmission," says Prof Wilson, whose report will be presented at the Australasian HIV and AIDS Conference in Darwin on Monday.
Another report to be presented at the conference shows close to 40 per cent of gay men admit having unprotected casual sex at least once in 2012.
"We're at the highest level recorded in our surveys of gay and bisexual men," says lead author Associate Professor John de Wit, director of the UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH).
The biggest increase is among those aged under 25, who are less likely to have been exposed to HIV-prevention campaigns.
He says about 10 per cent of gay men are HIV-positive and many do not know their status.
There has been a significant increase in the proportion of HIV-positive people being treated with antiretroviral therapy, according to his report.
And the treatment is working, with 93 per cent of patients having an undetectable viral load, compared with 74 per cent in 2003.
"But the prevention benefits of treatment are being offset by increases in risk-taking since treatment became available," he says.
"I would not call it complacency. People know it is serious. But they take risks in the heat of the moment."
The report shows an increasing number of gay men are prepared to disclose their status to casual partners, but many do not know their status and this is unlikely to be as effective as consistent condom use.
Treatment levels could be as low as 50 per cent, says Robert Mitchell, president of the National Association of People with HIV Australia.
"Australia needs a new National HIV Strategy to replace the current one which is completely out of date."
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