The number of new AIDS cases in the Republic this year will be the largest recorded, and shows a more than 100 per cent increase on last year. While 209 new HIV positive results were reported to the Department of Health last year, senior professionals in the area expect there will be "at least 400" new cases this year.
The Department of the Genito-urinary Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Department in St James's Hospital in Dublin has seen "over 200 new diagnoses" so far this year, according to Dr Fiona Mulcahy. "That would be over double the number we saw last year. We are swamped, can hardly cope. My colleagues and I are working far in excess of our usual working hours trying to look after everyone."
The increase is being put down to a combination of more HIV screening, but also to an increase in the incidence of HIV infection. The increase is highest among young sexually active heterosexuals, young gay people and drug addicts.
According to Mr Tony Regan, chief executive of the Dublin AIDS Alliance, the young people being infected - notably those in their late teens and early 20s - "haven't grown up with an awareness of AIDS.
"Also, they just don't see AIDS as a killer disease. However good the latest drugs are for treating HIV, they aren't a cure. People are still dying of AIDS."
Dr Mulcahy also sees this attitude among young drug addicts for whom "the last thing on their mind is getting a clean needle".
Routine antenatal screening of pregnant women at maternity hospitals has brought a significant number of heterosexual women to the statistics. Detecting the virus in pregnant women means the unborn baby can be protected against contracting HIV.
The number of new cases reported has wavered over the years, decreasing from a low of 85 in 1995 to this year's expected high.
The rise is worrying, says Dr Mulcahy, and highlights the need for increased awareness about STDs and HIV/AIDS in particular. The figures indicate increased sexual activity while awareness would appear to be diminishing. The number of recorded STDs has increased steadily since 1989, from 2,581 then to 7,436 in 1998.
The proportion of the State's population that is HIV positive is about 0.08 per cent.
