PHE support for HIV testing week

Almost 4,500 people are living with HIV in Greater Manchester with an estimated 1,100 more unaware they have the condition, according to new figures.

The statistics appear in a new Public Health England report published today (21 November) in the run up to National HIV Testing Week.

Dr Vinay Bothra, Consultant in Health Protection for Public Health England in Greater Manchester, said: "Last year 278 people in Greater Manchester were newly diagnosed with HIV.

"It is disappointing that more than one out of every ten people with the illness has not started appropriate treatment.

"It is important to expand HIV testing so that more people can be commenced on very effective treatments. National HIV Testing Week is a great opportunity to do this.’

Over 100,000 people are now living with HIV in the UK – around a quarter of whom are unaware of their infection and need to test.

Early diagnosis and timely treatment can mean a near-normal lifespan for someone with HIV. That’s why National HIV Testing Week (22-29 November) is so important. It raises awareness of the benefits of testing and encouraging the people most at risk – men who have sex with men and black Africans - to get tested.

Professor Kevin Fenton, PHE’s Health and Wellbeing Director, said: "National HIV Testing Week is a great opportunity to alert people to the benefits of testing – for individuals and for the UK’s public health. PHE is urging members of the public, clinicians, commissioners and community leaders to support and engage with the campaign."

Professor Noel Gill, head of PHE’s HIV and STI department, said: "In the UK, people who are unaware of their infection are likely to be those most at risk of transmitting HIV to others. We must reduce the number of undiagnosed HIV infections through encouraging earlier and more frequent HIV testing, especially by those most at risk. Earlier diagnosis will help reduce new HIV infections across the UK.

"Around half of men who have sex with men recently diagnosed with HIV received their diagnosis the first time they tested, which is a strong indication that many men who should be testing are not.

"National HIV Testing Week gives people a great opportunity to get tested."

National guidelines recommend that HIV testing should be offered routinely to everyone admitted to hospital and people registering with a GP surgery in areas of the country with HIV prevalence greater than two per 1000 people. Introducing additional ways to get tested, such as home-sampling services, is also encouraging more people to test.