Record Number of HIV Infections in UK

A record number of people in the UK are believed to have been infected with HIV last year, the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) reported today.

Warning that more than 20,000 adults were now living with HIV and that one new infection was being diagnosed every 3 hours, the PHLS called for new public awareness campaigns to make the risks of infection clear to the public.

The latest figures show that 2868 new HIV diagnoses have so far been reported for the year 2000, but the PHLS said this number was set to rise as more reports of diagnoses made last year continue to come in. "By the time all the reports are in, the year is expected to be the highest ever for new HIV diagnoses in the UK."

Dr Barry Evans, Head of the HIV and STI Division of the PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, said in a news release : "This time last year, we reported that HIV diagnoses for 1999 were running at a 10-year high. In fact, it is clear now that further reports have come in that 1999 saw more HIV diagnoses than any year since 1985, when HIV testing first became widely available. The indications are that the year 2000 will be the highest ever. Diagnoses reported for 2000 are already 7% higher than the comparable reports we had for 1999 at this point last year."

The PHLS said gay and bisexual men remain the single largest risk group. However, for the first time in 1999, the number of new HIV diagnoses amongst heterosexuals was higher than amongst gay and bisexual men, and this had continued in the year 2000.

Of the 2868 new diagnoses in 2000, 1315 were heterosexually acquired compared with 1096 amongst gay and bisexual men. The majority of the 1315 infections were acquired abroad, usually by people from or who have visited areas of high prevalence, such as sub-Saharan Africa.

The increase in diagnoses among heterosexuals was probably in part a result of initiatives over the last few years to encourage heterosexuals who may not have thought themselves to be at risk, or who may have been unaware of the benefits of diagnosis, to come forward for testing, the PHLS said.

"Perhaps surprisingly, this is not entirely bad news," Dr Evans said. "Many of those being diagnosed are people who were infected some years ago, but who are only now coming forward for testing. This is positive, because once people are HIV-diagnosed, they can be offered treatment."

"Many of the diagnoses, however, are new infections which indicate that transmission of the virus continues to occur," he continued. "There have also been large increases in other STIs such as gonorrhoea, which show that unsafe sex is occurring and people are putting themselves at risk of acquiring HIV."

Dr. Evans urged health professionals to find new ways of making the risks of HIV clear to the public and, in particular, to young people who were not around for the high-profile HIV awareness campaigns of the 1980s. He warned : "Over 20,000 adults are now living with an HIV diagnosis in this country, and with a new diagnosis being made on average every 3 hours in the year 2000 that number is growing. The prevention messages have never been more important than they are now."