Victorian health department figures reveal an increase in notified cases of HIV – from 143 in the first six months of last year, to 170 in the first six months of this year – as well as a 112 per cent rise in the number of AIDS-related deaths, from 8 to 17, over the same period.
Chief health officer Professor Charles Guest said the increase was partly driven by more people getting tested more often, either at their local health service or through PRONTO! – the government-backed rapid testing centre in Fitzroy.
Read more here