The number of new diagnoses of HIV in the United Kingdom last year was close to the 2004 figure, says a report from the Health Protection Agency, but the number of new cases of syphilis rose by 23% (from 2282 to 2816). The number of new cases of HIV was 7450 in 2005 and 7492 in 2004.
In 2005 an estimated 63 500 adults in the UK were HIV positive, and altogether almost 800 000 diagnoses of acute sexually transmitted infections were made.
The report found that rates of infection of genital chlamydia, genital herpes, and genital warts (caused by the human papillomavirus) were still high. Gonorrhoea was the only disease that showed improvement: the number of new diagnoses fell by 13% from 2004 to 2005, continuing a trend first seen in 2002.
Almost two thirds of all new cases of HIV in 2005 were diagnosed in people from ethnic minorities; and the number of new diagnoses reported among men who have sex with men was higher than ever before.
The agency called for:
trusts to give greater priority to early diagnosis of HIV
better needle exchange services
wider use of surveillance to monitor sexual health, and
more data collection to support research and for looking at trends among young people.
The report says that guidelines of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence must focus on men who have sex with men as well as black Africans and Caribbean heterosexual people, who are at a higher risk of contracting and passing on sexually transmitted infections. Services should be provided in a range of settings.
Thirty two per cent of people infected with HIV are unaware of their infection, the report estimates. Many of these people engage in high risk behaviour, particularly men who have sex with men—many of whom still have unprotected anal intercourse.
Data from genitourinary medicine clinics in 2005 showed that chlamydia was the most commonly diagnosed sexually transmitted infection, with almost 110 000 cases in 2005.
A Complex Picture is available at www.hpa.org.uk.