30 Years Fighting HIV-AIDS (inside front cover)

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks the immune system, which is the body’s defence against infections and cancers. If a person’s immune system becomes severely damaged by the virus, they will be vulnerable to various infections and cancers which define the onset of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Usual modes of HIV transmission are sexual, vertical from mother to child, and blood to blood such as via injecting drug use. The World Health Organization estimates that 33.3 million people were living with HIV worldwide at the end of 2009.

2011 marks the 30th year since the first published scientific account of HIV-AIDS. In Australia, the first case of HIV-AIDS was recorded in Sydney in October 1982, with the first death from AIDS occurring in Melbourne in July the following year.

In 1984, the Australian Government established an AIDS taskforce to inform health ministers on the medical and scientific aspects of the disease. In 1985, to protect the blood supply, Australia became the first country to introduce comprehensive blood-screening tests for HIV. Australian governments began in the mid-1980s to pilot or support programs involving supply of clean needles and syringes to injecting drug users. While occasionally controversial, these are reported to have been crucial in keeping the incidence of HIV infection low, as well as being extremely cost-effective.

In 1989, the first national HIV-AIDS strategy was introduced, as a result of the outstanding complementary and cooperative efforts of medical and scientific bodies, governments and affected communities.

This broad-based approach, combined with a focus on prevention, won Australia international acclaim and became a model for dealing with the HIV-AIDS. This approach remains fundamental to the continued success of Australia’s response to HIV.

The Annual Surveillance Report on HIV-AIDS, released in 2011, indicates that the annual number of new HIV diagnoses in Australia has remained (see Figure 1) relatively steady at about 1,000 over the past five years. HIV prevalence in Australia remains one of the lowest in the world, at about 0.1%.

There is currently no cure for HIV. However, the significant advances to treatment regimes mean that HIV is a disease that can be managed with lifelong treatment, rather than one with a fatal outcome.

While Australia’s response has been historically successful, HIV still presents challenges, such as emerging small scale epidemics in certain populations, and the need to keep the public engaged with prevention messages. To meet these challenges, the Sixth National HIV Strategy, endorsed by all health ministers in 2010, focuses on the need to reinvigorate prevention and to reinvest in a long-term,
comprehensive response to HIV.

Figure 1: Number of HIV Diagnoses in Australia^(a)

Figure 1: Number of HIV Diagnoses in Australia
Text version of this chart

^(a)Data from National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.

The cover features an image of the HIV virus

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV or AIDS virus): HIV attacks a macrophage (top middle) and a Helper T Cell (lower left). New virus particles then bud from the macrophage. A B-lymphocyte (bottom right) gives rise to Plasma Cells (reddish cells on right) that produce antibodies (Y shaped molecules in red) that bind to HIV.

A killer cell (bottom middle) will attack virus infected cells. The interaction of HIV and the immune system is very complex and varies over time. The 2010-11 Annual Report is the next in the series
of departmental Annual Reports that features a virus on the cover. The image of the HIV virus is copyright: Russell Kightley.

Contact us

If you would like to comment on this Annual Report, or have any queries, please contact the Editor at:
The Editor, 2010-11 Annual Report
Department of Health and Ageing
MDP 51, GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, AUSTRALIA
Phone: +61 2 6289 7181
Fax: +61 2 6289 7177
Email: annrep@health.gov.au

Copyright

ISSN: 1447-8722
ISBN: 978-1-74241-565-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-74241-566-6
Publications Approval Number: D0401
© Commonwealth of Australia 2011

Alternative formats

This Annual Report is available electronically on the Department of Health and Ageing website at: www.health.gov.au. This document is also available in other formats by contacting the Editor.

prev page | TOC | next page