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Gay HIV diagnosis remains at epidemic levels
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One third of all HIV cases diagnosed in the UK are gay men
"The number of HIV diagnoses reported annually has consistently increased and exceeded the annual number of diagnoses throughout the 1980s and 1990s"
The Health Protection Agency has released a report that shows no decrease in the number of gay men diagnosed with HIV over the past 12 months.
The report reveals that 2630 gay men were found to have the infection in 2007, a figure that has been consistently high for three years in a row.
The figures show a decrease of 12% for overall diagnosis amongst the whole population compared to a peak in 2005, but scientists say this is due to a decrease in infected heterosexual couples and does not represent a fall in gay transmission.
Dr Valerie Delpech, Head of HIV surveillance at the Agency said, "We are still seeing high levels of HIV transmission in gay men and in recent years the number of HIV diagnoses reported annually has consistently increased and exceeded the annual number of diagnoses throughout the 1980s and 1990s."
These high levels are partly a result of increased testing but the agency reports that even when taking this into account, there is still a worryingly high rate of transmission amongst gay men.
"Increased testing will have contributed in part to these recent high numbers of HIV diagnoses, but there is no suggestion that the overall level of underlying HIV transmission in gay men has fallen," says Dr. Delpech.
The high level of diagnosis have also been linked to a general deterioration in sexual health habits amongst the population as a whole as Dr Delpech noted,
"Sexual health of young adults has worsened in 2006 with increases in sexually transmitted herpes and warts viruses. One in ten young adults screened through the National Chlamydia Screening Programme in 2006 tested positive for the infection."
