More than half of new HIV cases here have late-stage infection

28 Nov 2010

MOH and HPB urge at-risk groups to go for voluntary testing 

1. 373 more Singaporeans were infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the first ten months of 2010. For the whole year, MOH expects the total number of notified HIV cases to be close to last year’s total of 463 cases.

2. For the 169 new cases reported in the first 6 months which investigations have been completed, 60% of these cases already had late-stage HIV infection1 when diagnosed. Majority of them were males (92%) and sexual transmission remains the main mode of HIV transmission. More details are available at Annex A.

3. For the remaining 204 HIV cases that were reported between July and October 2010, investigations are still ongoing. The detailed analysis will only be available at a later date.

   HIV testing

4. There had been an increase in the number of HIV tests done in Singapore in 2010, compared to 2009. From January to September 2010, the total number of HIV tests carried out for Singapore residents by local laboratories was 143,906, compared to 129,966 over the same time period in 2009. More than half of the new cases (63%) in the first 6 months of the year detected their HIV during some form of medical care. However, there was a slight dip (about 7.3%) in the number of anonymous HIV tests done from January to October 2010 compared to the same period last year. 7,762 anonymous HIV tests (3,113 in six GP clinics and 4,649 in the Action for AIDS anonymous test site) were carried out in the first 10 months of this year.

5. MOH and HPB would like to urge those at risk of HIV infection and those who engage in risky sexual behaviour to go for regular HIV testing. Regular HIV testing can help an infected person to be diagnosed at an earlier stage of infection. Early diagnosis can afford a person earlier access to care and treatment, and also allow the person to receive counselling on how to protect their partners from infection.

   Preventing HIV infections

6. The most effective way to prevent HIV infection is to remain faithful to one’s spouse/partner and to avoid casual sex and sex with sex workers. A person living with HIV looks and feels normal during the early stages of the infection. It is therefore not possible to tell if a person is living with HIV or not – the only way to know this, is to go for a HIV test.

7. Persons engaging in high-risk sexual behaviour, such as having multiple sexual partners, engaging in casual sex or engaging with sex workers, are strongly advised to use condoms to reduce their risk of HIV infection. Condoms should be used consistently and correctly during every sexual encounter. They should also go for regular HIV and STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing. Early detection and treatment can lead to better quality of life.

8. More than 90% of people living with HIV in Singapore are adults in the prime working ages of 21 to 59 years. MOH, AIDS Business Alliance (ABA) and HPB therefore strongly encourage employers to take the lead in helping to create a supportive environment and promote greater understanding and acceptance of people living with HIV. MOH, ABA and HPB also urge employers to adopt a more pro-active approach in HIV prevention and education at the workplace. HPB has a holistic HIV/AIDS prevention and education programme, under the Communicable Disease Education category of its Workplace Health Promotion Programmes (WHPP).

9. The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) has previously issued the "Guidelines on Managing HIV/AIDS at the Workplace". These guidelines advocate the provision of HIV education at the workplace, as well as provide guidance on the management of HIV-infected workers at the workplace.

10. It is an offence under the Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Act 2008 if a person who has reason to believe that he has, or has been exposed to a significant risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, does not take reasonable precautions to protect his sexual partner, such as by using condoms, even if he is unaware of his HIV positive status. Alternatively, he can go for a HIV test to confirm that he is HIV-negative. Otherwise, he must inform his partner of the risk of contracting HIV from him, leaving the partner to voluntarily accept the risk, if he or she so wishes.

11. More information about HIV and AIDS can be found on the HPB website at http://hpb.gov.sg/sexualhealth/subtopic.aspx?id=1412. For more information about the workplace HIV/AIDS prevention and education programmes, please contact HPB at hpb_cde@hpb.gov.sg.

Annex A (227 KB)