AUSTRALIA’S mining boom may be fuelling a rise in HIV infections among workers in resource-rich states, according to researchers.
HIV infection rates in Australia have jumped by nearly 50% since 2000, according to a new national HIV-AIDS report.
The report shows a large number of new infections are amongst heterosexual men in the country’s mining rich states of Western Australia and Queensland.
Researchers suggest that miners are heading to Asia more often for downtime from fly-in, fly-out shifts and bringing new infections with them.
The WA government is joining with the AIDS Council and mining companies to implement safe sex education programmes for miners.
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