Key findings
- After adjusting for reporting delay, there were 9,083 AIDS cases and 6,272 deaths following AIDS in Australia, cumulative to 31 December 2002. The number of HIV diagnoses, adjusted for multiple reporting, was 19,674 at the end of 2002. An estimated 13,120 people were living with HIV/AIDS in Australia in 2002.
- An estimated 52% of all people living with HIV infection in Australia in 2002 were treated with antiretroviral therapy.
- The reported number of diagnoses of hepatitis C infection has declined from a peak of 20,465 in 2000 to 15,953 cases in 2002. The reported number of diagnoses of newly acquired hepatitis C infection has declined from 672 cases in 2001 to 434 cases in 2002.
- Chlamydia was the most frequently reported notifiable condition in Australia in 2002 with 24,045 diagnoses. The population rate of diagnosis of chlamydia increased from 74.7 per 100,000 in 1999 to 128.5 per 100,000 in 2002.
- The population rate of diagnosis of gonorrhoea increased slightly, from 29.0 per 100,000 population in 1998 to 32.9 in 2002. The population rate of diagnosis of syphilis also increased, from 6.8 per 100,000 population in 2001 to 8.2 per 100,000 in 2002.