Hong Kong reported 180 new cases of HIV infection in the first half of 2025, marking the ninth consecutive year of decline, health authorities announced on Tuesday.
Despite the overall decrease, officials raised concerns over a significant rise in late diagnoses, which can severely impact treatment outcomes and increase transmission risks.
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) released the latest figures, noting that the new infections involved 140 men and 40 women, with over 95 percent of cases transmitted through sexual contact.
More than half of these infections occurred through homosexual or bisexual contact, while the remainder were acquired heterosexually.
The cumulative number of HIV infections in Hong Kong since 1984 now stands at 12,583.
In the same period, 47 new cases of AIDS were reported, bringing the total number of AIDS cases since 1985 to 2,604. The most common AIDS-defining illness was Pneumocystis pneumonia.
Dr. Bonnie Wong, Consultant for the Special Preventive Programme at the CHP, noted that while Hong Kong’s HIV prevalence remains low at 0.1 percent—well below the global average—the rise in late presentations is alarming.
The proportion of late presenters increased from 48 percent in the same period last year to 58 percent in the first half of 2025. Late presenters are those diagnosed with very low immune cell counts or who have already developed AIDS, indicating delayed testing and treatment.
Dr. Wong emphasized that late diagnosis not only leads to worse health outcomes, including a tenfold increase in mortality, but also raises the risk of community transmission due to unsuppressed viral loads.
She highlighted that while high-risk groups such as men who have sex with men and sex workers show late presentation rates of 40-50 percent, the figure is even higher—60-70 percent—among those who do not consider themselves at risk.
These individuals may underestimate their vulnerability and delay testing.
The CHP strongly encourages the public to practice regular and correct condom use and to undergo HIV testing at least once if sexually active.
Free, anonymous, and confidential testing is available through the HIV Testing Service website or the AIDS Hotline.
Self-test kits can also be ordered online and collected at various locations across Hong Kong.
Dr. Wong reassured us that HIV is now a manageable chronic condition. Early treatment with antiretroviral therapy can effectively suppress the virus, prevent progression to AIDS, and reduce transmission risk.
She underscored the importance of the "Undetectable = Untransmittable" (U=U) concept, meaning that individuals with an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV through sex.
