A study of routine surveillance data has found that New Zealand continues to have a high proportion of late HIV diagnoses. In the study, ‘late presentation’ was defined as a CD4 count 2 years ago, were more likely to present late and have advanced disease. Amongst heterosexuals, factors associated with late presentation were older age, testing due to symptoms, and Pacific ethnicity; factors associated with advanced disease were Māori, Pacific or Asian ethnicity. The study authors suggested that identifying barriers for testing and opportunities for screening could help to reduce the burden of late presentation – particularly among heterosexual individuals, non-Europeans, and older people
