Significant decline of HIV diagnoses for gay and bisexual men in the UK
January 16, 2018For the first time since the 1980s, at the beginning of the epidemic, there has been a significant decline in HIV diagnoses in the UK. Public Health England (PHE) have released numbers that show new cases of HIV in gay and bisexual men have dropped by 21%. From 3,570 new cases in 2015 to 2,810 in 2016. This was even more evident for men residing in London, which saw a drop in new cases by 29%.
PHE attribute this to new programs illustrating safer sex, prevalent condom use amongst gay men, and the advent of PrEP. PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis), a drug that has shaken up the gay community in recent years, is a small blue pill that if taken daily can reduce the risk of contracting HIV by more than 90%.
The NHS started a three-year trial of the drug in October of last year, supported by PHE. The drug is also available privately from some clinics.
Dr Valerie Delpech, head of HIV surveillance at PHE, also contributes much of the success to better tester facilities, “Early diagnosis is also key to making sure that people benefit from HIV treatments so they can live long and healthy lives and are protected from passing the virus to others.”
__________________
SIGN UP to myGwork, the global networking and recruitment hub for LGBTI professionals and graduates
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on LinkedIn
Follow us on Instagram