It was vital for the government to make public the results of the 2008 HIV survey before the general elections to enable the public to make informed decisions, the Democratic Alliance said on Monday.

Party spokesperson on health Mike Waters said the 2008 Antenatal Clinic Survey would enlighten the public on how "well the government is managing to reduce HIV infections".

"Aids is a key election issue. We are just emerging from the 'beetroot and garlic' era and (while) the new Minister is taking Aids more seriously, prevention campaigns do not seem to have got off the ground and figures suggest that an average of 1000 people a day are being infected," said Waters.

He said the survey would be an important indicator of "where we are in terms of new infections".

The Antenatal Clinic Survey measures HIV levels in pregnant women attending clinics and is conducted on a yearly basis.

"[It] is one of the only sources of on-the-ground information there is on infection rates. Prior to the tenure of Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, it was released regularly in March, but under Dr Tshabalala-Msimang it was released later and later as the department deprioritised the scientific measurement of HIV," he said.

While the 2006 and 2007 survey results suggested a slight decline in HIV prevalence, Waters said: "Experts argue that the figures were incorrectly weighted, and that there was in fact an increase in prevalence between 2006 and 2007".

Health spokesperson Fidel Hadebe was not immediately available for comment.