News & Events

Fall in HIV among gay men could spell end for Britain’s epidemic

Posted on June 22, 2017

Source: The Guardian

Fall in HIV among gay men could spell end for Britain’s epidemic

"A big drop in the numbers of gay men becoming infected with HIV in London may signal that the Aids epidemic in Britain can be brought to a close, public health experts believe.

New data from Public Health England talks about the potential elimination of HIV, revealing the first downturn in the epidemic among gay and bisexual men since it began, thanks to a combination of frequent testing of people at high risk of infection and rapid treatment.

In the year beginning October 2015, HIV diagnoses fell by 32% compared with October 2014 to September 2015 among men who have sex with men (MSM) attending five of the biggest London sexual health clinics.

The reasons for the fall are thought to be the big step up in testing, so that gay men at high risk because their partner has HIV would be offered testing every three months, andoffering immediate antiretroviral drug treatment to those who test positive, which suppresses the virus."

Continue reading.