Key findings
According to the 2018 Annual Surveillance Report, the number of newly diagnosed cases of HIV in Australia has declined by 7% over the past five years, following a steady increase since 1999. An estimated 199,230 people were living with chronic hepatitis C infection at the beginning of 2017 decreasing to 182,144 by the end of 2017, with over 20,454 cured of hepatitis C since the end 2016 thanks to increased access to new treatments subsidised by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Rates of gonorrhoea continue to increase, with a particular rise in heterosexuals in urban areas. There has also been a resurgence of infectious syphilis in Northern Australia.
