AUSTRALIAN television presenter Karl Schmid has come out as HIV-positive despite being warned it would “ruin” him.

In a moving note posted on Facebook, Schmid, who works at America’s ABC network and has hosted coverage of the Oscars, said he grappled with the decision to go public with the diagnosis for a decade because people in the industry said he should keep it a secret.

“I’m a 37 year old HIV+ man who has been [positive] for almost ten years,” he wrote.

“I work in television ... on the side of the camera where, for better or worse it’s considered ‘taboo’ for people ‘like me’ to be ‘like me’. For 10 years I’ve struggled with ‘do I or don’t I?’ For ten years the stigma and industry professionals have said, ‘don’t! It’ll ruin you’”.

Schmid, who was born and raised in Australia and moved to the US in 2008, said he hoped coming out would help to reduce the stigma around being HIV-positive.

“I have a big heart and I want to be loved and accepted,” he said.

“I may be on TV from time to time, but at the end of the day I’m just an average guy who wants want we all want. To be accepted and loved by our friends and family and to be encouraged by our peers.”

Alongside a photo of himself in an AIDS Memorial T-shirt, the Los Angeles-based man wrote:

“For anyone who has ever doubted themselves because of those scary three letters and one symbol, let me tell you this, you are somebody who matters. Your feelings, your thoughts, your emotions count. And don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.”

Thousands have liked and shared the post, including celebrities like Ricky Martin and Empire’s Rafael de la Fuenta, offering messages of support, something Schmid said has been “overwhelming”.

“The flood of touching, personal, kind and heartfelt messages keep rolling in!” he wrote on Instagram.

“THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Again, I honestly had no idea that me just being honest would resonate with so many.”

It’s rare for a high-profile person to come out as HIV-positive. Former NBA player Magic Johnson revealed his diagnosis in 1991, before creating the Magic Johnson foundation to raise awareness of the virus. Charlie Sheen came out as HIV-positive in 2015 after paying millions in extortion money in an attempt to keep the diagnosis a secret.

In February a groundbreaking new HIV prevention drug was approved for taxpayer subsidy in Australia, taking the over-the-counter cost from $1000 down to just $40.

PrEP is expected to be available by mid-2018.

Thanks in part to the drug, New South Wales is on track to virtually eliminate HIV transmission by 2020 as the rate of new infections declines rapidly year-on-year.

Ricky Martin praises ABC reporter Karl Schmid for coming out as HIV-positive:https://t.co/xwnVqcOBQm pic.twitter.com/9umNnvPh6F — Attitude (@AttitudeMag) March 31, 2018