Hong Kong's new HIV cases hit record high with 195 people diagnosed in Q3

A total of 195 new HIV cases were reported in the third quarter of the year, the highest number ever in a single quarter, the Centre for Health Protection said yesterday, while a separate survey found that the infection rate among gay men had risen almost two percentage points.

A representative for the centre suggested that the higher figures - working out to an average of 2.1 cases being reported daily - could be due to more intensive testing by NGOs and an aggressive diagnosis campaign by UNAids.

The figures bring the cumulative total reported cases of HIV, the virus that causes Aids, to 6,841 since the city's voluntary reporting system started in 1984. In addition, 27 new Aids cases were reported, bringing the cumulative total since 1985 to 1,524.

More than 85 per cent of new HIV cases were in men, most aged from 20 to 29. Over 70 per cent of the new cases were sexually transmitted, 105 via "homosexual or bisexual contact" - an upward trend. Heterosexual contact accounted for 35 new cases, pointing to a stable trend.

The NGO Aids Concern said the upward trend was "very worrying" and highlighted the need for more effort in HIV prevention.

Preliminary data from a survey on HIV prevalence among gay men, conducted between April and September, showed that the group's HIV infection rate is 5.9 per cent, higher than its 2011 rate of 4.08 per cent.

The poll was conducted in NGO service centres, gay bars, saunas and via the internet.