Newly diagnosed cases reported for 2003 currently stand at 5,864. However, once all reports have been made, it expected that a record 7,000 new cases will be diagnosed for 2003 alone, a 20 per cent increase from 2002.

Estimated number of people living with HIV - > 50,000

HIV cases diagnosed in 2003 - 5,864

Increase in the number of cases from 2002 - 20%

There is a continuing epidemic among the homosexual community and men having sex with men, accounting for approximately 1,641 of cases reported so far for 2003. The main increase, however, is among heterosexuals, the majority of whom acquired the virus in Africa. Approximately 3,371 new heterosexual cases have been reported so far for 2003. Injecting drug use and mother-to-children transmission each accounted for about 100 cases in 2003.

More than two thirds of the HIV cases are diagnosed in London, however this figure can be misleading. People often travel to London for testing and treatment because there are established specialised services in London. Other areas with a higher prevalence of HIV cases are Brighton and Manchester.

Brief History

AIDS was first identified in the UK in the early 1980s. During the early years of the UK epidemic, HIV infections were concentrated in three groups: men the gay community and men having sex with men, injecting drug users (IDUs) and those receiving blood products, such as transfusions.

In the mid-1980s, the introduction of needle exchange programmes decreased the frequency in IDUs and heat treatments to kill the virus in blood products did the same for those receiving blood products. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, an aggressive public awareness campaign launched by the UK Government resulted in a decline in the number of cases reported each year, however the epidemic still simmered below the surface.

The introduction of anti-retroviral therapy, medications designed to prevent the progression to AIDS, dramatically decreased the number of AIDS-related deaths. Accordingly, the number of HIV cases continued to rise, while the death rate plummeted. AIDS-related deaths fell from 1,236 in 1996 to 395 in 1998 – approximately a 70 per cent drop. The figures since 1998 show a levelling off of this trend with around 400 deaths per year.

Despite these advancements in medical technology, HIV diagnoses have again begun to increase. These increases parallel increases in other STIs and unintended pregnancies across the UK. Unless safer sex messages are heeded, the UK could again see an increasing level of HIV transmission.

Who is affected by HIV?

Anyone can be infected with HIV, but some communities have been more affected than others.

The UK gay community and other men having sex with men have been the group most affected. Recent sharp rises in STIs among gay men have given rise to concern that high risk sexual behaviour amongst gay men is increasing.

There has also been an increase in the number of heterosexuals becoming infected by HIV reported in the UK. Since 1999 the number of new HIV diagnoses acquired heterosexually has been higher than the number of people diagnosed through sex between men. The majority of these cases – about 80 per cent – are thought to have been acquired abroad, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Infections among IDUs have remained relatively low in recent years. Recently there has been a rise in sharing of injecting equipment. This has not directly led to an increase in HIV transmission, but there has been an increase in Hepatitis C and other blood borne viruses.