Doubling of UK HIV rate prompts routine testing call Skip to main content

Doubling of UK HIV rate prompts routine testing call


HIV contaminated blood HIV can be spread via blood and bodily secretions

Related Stories

A doubling of new HIV infections in the UK in the past decade is leading experts to tell GPs to offer testing to all adult male patients in some areas.
Health Protection Agency data shows new UK-acquired cases rose from just under 2,000 in 2001 to nearly 3,800 in 2010.
Many of these new cases are among men who have sex with men and it is this group that campaigners hope to target.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has launched new guidelines for doctors in England.
Routine testing NICE says GPs should now offer and recommend HIV testing to all men who register with a practice in an area with a large community of men who have sex with men or an area that has a high prevalence of HIV - meaning more than two diagnosed cases per 1,000 people.
Hospital doctors should follow similar advice for any men admitted to their hospital.

Start Quote

These expanded HIV testing policies should be prioritised for implementation as soon as possible”
End Quote Dr Valerie Delpech Head of HIV surveillance at the HPA
Increased testing should help stop the spread of HIV by identifying men at risk, NICE believes.
Men who have sex with men remain the group most at risk of becoming infected with HIV.
New diagnoses in this group alone have increased by 70% in the past 10 years.
There are more than 30,000 men who have sex with men living with HIV in the UK and experts estimate nearly a third of these are currently undiagnosed and unaware that they are infected.
Another high risk group that would benefit from increased HIV testing, according to NICE, is the black African community living in England.
In 2009, more than 2,000 black Africans were diagnosed with an HIV infection; one-third of all new diagnoses in the UK.

Some of the Primary Care Trusts in England where HIV prevalence greatly exceeds two per 1,000

  • Brighton And Hove City PCT
  • Camden PCT
  • City And Hackney Teaching PCT
  • Hammersmith And Fulham PCT
  • Islington PCT
  • Lambeth PCT
  • Newham PCT
  • Manchester Teaching PCT
  • Southwark PCT
Professor Mike Kelly from NICE said: "HIV is still a serious problem in this country, with a large proportion of people unaware they are infected.
"This new guidance from NICE makes a number of practical recommendations which aim to increase HIV testing by encouraging healthcare professionals to offer it routinely to people in areas where there are a high number of people living with HIV."
This would include parts of larges cities like London and Manchester, as well as areas like Brighton and Hove.
Dr Valerie Delpech, head of HIV surveillance at the HPA, said: "These expanded HIV testing policies should be prioritised for implementation as soon as possible.
"The impact of late diagnosis is clearly demonstrated when you look at deaths among people with HIV - three out of five of HIV-positive individuals that die are diagnosed too late to gain the most health benefits from their treatment, like increased life expectancy."
HIV charities said the guidelines were a "vital step forward".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12817564

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do

Is 160 enough? One Indian man's family

By Sumnima Udas , CNN October 31, 2011 -- Updated 0857 GMT (1657 HKT) Ziona, center, with his has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren in rural Baktwang village, India. STORY HIGHLIGHTS One man in India is the patriarch of a family of 160 in rural India Ziona, who only goes by his first name, has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren. Ziona's father, Chana, founded the Christian sect in Baktwang that promotes polygamy "I never wanted to get married but that's the path God has chosen for me" Mizoram, India (CNN) -- The world's population hits 7 billion this week, but Ziona, the patriarch of what may be the biggest family in the world, is not bothered. "I don't care about overpopulation in India ... I believe God has chosen us to be like this (have big families). Those who are born into this family don't want to leave this tradition so we just keep growing and growing," he says with a smile. Ziona, who only goes by his f