There’s disappointing news about HIV transmission rates in England.
For several years, the number of new HIV diagnoses in England has fallen. Gay men, in particular, have seen rates tumble.
Experts believe this is a combination of encouraging people to get tested and ensuring that those who test HIV-positive are quickly treated to become undetectable. There is also now widespread PrEP use in the gay community.
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However, the latest figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have shown a significant rise in new diagnoses between 2022 and 2023.
“The number of HIV diagnoses first made in England increased by 15% from 2,451 in 2022 to 2,810 in 2023,” says the agency.
Heterosexuals fuel rise in HIV
The increase was not equal across all communities. Although there was a rise of 7% in gay men, there was a 36% rise in straight men and a 30% rise in straight women.
Around 60% of new diagnoses in the UK were believed to be down to men-women sexual encounters.
Among gay men, a third of new diagnoses were in ethnic minority men (up from 26% in 2022).
The agency also reported a large rise in HIV diagnoses in people relocating to the UK who were previously diagnosed abroad.
“When including those first diagnosed abroad, there were 6,008 HIV diagnoses in England in 2023, an increase of 51% from 3,975 in 2022.”
Around 40% of those diagnosed with HIV discovered their status at a late stage. This is after the virus had begun to damage their immune system.
Rates of testing
The number of people getting an HIV test is still slightly below pre-pandemic levels. By contrast, in 2022, England launched an opt-out program to test for HIV in hospital emergency departments. It is not yet known how this policy may have contributed to the increase in HIV diagnoses. Data on this is due later this year.
Dr Tamara Djuretic, Co-Head of HIV at UKHSA, said in a statement, “It is clear that more action is needed to curb new HIV transmissions, particularly among heterosexuals and ethnic minority groups. Addressing these widening inequalities, ramping up testing, improving access to PrEP and getting people started on HIV treatment earlier will all be crucial to achieving this.”
“Call to action”
The Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK’s largest sexual health charity, reacted with concern to the figures. They said they put England’s goal of ending HIV transmission by 2030 in “jeopardy.”
“We’re not on track for the Government’s 2030 goal of ending new HIV cases in the UK, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done,” said Richard Angell, Chief Executive at THT. “Today’s new figures show people from ethnic minorities face an increasing burden of HIV, with rising diagnoses and worse health outcomes than the population as a whole. Recent strong progress among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men seems to have stalled. And almost across the board, the picture is worse for those living outside of London, where resources are most limited.
“Today’s figures are a call-to-action: we need innovation and new resources to address these health inequalities and reach the 2030 goal. Time is of the essence.”
All involved emphasize the importance of getting tested and knowing one’s status. Although that’s a message many gay men are used to hearing, it seems to be something more heterosexuals need to take on board.
Related*
Why has progress against HIV stalled among Hispanic & Latino Americans?
Producing more HIV awareness info in Spanish is just one initiative that could help bring down HIV rates.
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