Gay men in UK urged to have at least one HIV test a year Aidsmap

Gay men in the UK are being urged to have an HIV test at least once a year. The recommendation comes from the UK Health Protection Agency which published figures showing continuing high levels of new HIV diagnoses amongst gay men in 2007.

There were a total of 6,840 new HIV diagnoses in the UK in 2007. Although this represented a fall of approximately 1,400 in the total number compared to 2006, new diagnoses amongst gay men were essentially unchanged at 2,630.

This is the third successive year that new HIV diagnoses amongst gay men have been above 2,600. In the early and mid-1990s approximately 1,500 gay men a year were diagnosed with HIV. But numbers increased steadily during the late 1990s, reaching a peak in 2006.

It is thought that a number of factors are contributing to the high levels of new HIV diagnoses amongst the UK’s gay men. Increased levels of HIV testing are partly responsible, as is migration, but there is also evidence of ongoing HIV transmission amongst gay men.

Approximately a third of all cases of HIV are undiagnosed in the UK and compared to some other countries, such as Australia, levels of HIV testing amongst gay men in the UK are very low. A recent survey suggested that as many as 40% of gay men in the UK have never had an HIV test.. Gay men in UK urged to have at least one HIV test a year Aidsmap