Increasing HIV diagnoses in Australia among men who have sex with men correlated with the growing number not taking antiretroviral therapy.

The article discusses a study on the increasing number of men who have sex with men (MSM) being diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Australia. The study evaluated notifications of HIV diagnoses and deaths from the Australian National HIV and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Registry (NHAR) to calculate numbers and ages of MSM living with HIV from 1983 to 2007. It showed a rise in percentage of younger MSM not taking combination antiretroviral therapy (CART) since 1998. It found a significant correlation between the trend of new HIV diagnoses and the total number of HIV-positive MSM and those not taking CART. The authors emphasise that earlier initiation of CART may be beneficial to HIV-positive individuals and may be important for secondary prevention.