A total of 624 HIV cases were reported to the Centre for Health Protection last year, a drop of 8% on 2017.

Of the new cases, 530 were males and 94 were females, bringing the cumulative number of HIV infections to 9,715 since 1984.

Briefing reporters on Hong Kong’s HIV/AIDS situation in 2018, Centre for Health Protection Consultant Dr Kenny Chan today said: “We are very happy to see that the HIV numbers have fallen for three consecutive years, from a high of 725 to 624, so that accounted for actually more than 13% of drop.”

He added that over the past few years, the high risk community, including the MSM (Men who have sex with men) community, have taken notice of the risk that exists and adopted precautions to avoid becoming infected.

Of last year’s HIV cases, 363 involved homosexual or bisexual contact, 138 were via heterosexual contact, three were through injecting drugs, while the remaining 120 cases could not be determined.

Dr Chan emphasised the importance of proper condom use in reducing the risk of contracting HIV.

The fourth quarter of 2018 saw 37 new AIDS cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,996 since 1985.

Of these new cases, 19 were attributed to homosexual or bisexual contact and 13 were related to heterosexual contact.

The most common AIDS-defining illness in the fourth quarter was Pneumocystis pneumonia, a kind of chest infection.