High rates of undiagnosed HIV infections in a community sample of gay men in Melbourne, Australia

Abstract

Undiagnosed HIV infections contribute disproportionately to the HIV epidemic. We recruited 639 gay men attending social venues, who completed a cross-sectional survey with oral fluid collection for HIV testing in 2008. We calculated HIV and undiagnosed HIV prevalence and used χ 2 tests and logistic regression to examine associations between participant characteristics and HIV status. Among 639 men, 61 (9.5%, 95% confidence interval: 7.4% to 12.1%) tested HIV positive, of which 19 (31.1%, 95%confidence interval: 19.9% to 44.3%) were classified as undiagnosed HIV positive. Almost a third of HIV-positive men were unaware of their HIV status, and of these men, a large proportion engaged in high-..