![]() | The factual accuracy of parts of this article (those related to new report - see talk) may be compromised due to out-of-date information.(December 2021) |
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AIDS was first diagnosed in 1981. As of year-end 2018, 160,493 people have been diagnosed with HIV in the United Kingdom and an estimated 7,500 people are living undiagnosed with HIV. [1] New diagnoses are highest in gay/bisexual men, with an estimated 51% of new diagnosis reporting male same-sex sexual activity as the probable route of infection. Between 2009 and 2018 there was a 32% reduction in new HIV diagnosis, attributed by Public Health England (PHE) to better surveillance and education. [1] PHE has described an "outbreak" in Glasgow amongst people who inject drugs, [1] and has campaigns targeting men who have sex with men in London and other major cities. [2] London was the first city in the world to reach the World Health Organization target for HIV, set at 90% of those with HIV diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed on HAART and 90% of those on HAART undetectable. [2] [3] The UK as a whole later achieved the same target. [3] Under the Equality Act 2010, it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on their HIV status in the UK. [4] [5]
In 2017, 93,385 people (64,472 men and 28,877 women) living with diagnosed HIV infection received HIV care in the UK. 42,739 of those are gay or bisexual. [6]
In 2017, the prevalence of HIV in the United Kingdom was estimated at 101,600 (credible interval 99,300 to 106,400) with 92% (credible interval 88 to 94%) diagnosed. [6] Prevalence is highest in gay/bisexual men in London with an estimated 83 (credible interval 73 to 96) per 1000 gay and bisexual men aged 15 to 74 years. HIV prevalence in this group was higher in London compared with the rest of England (134/1,000 CrI 113 to 156 and 63/1,000 CrI 53 to 76, respectively). [6] However, the 2017 statistics showed a tremendous decrease in the number of newly HIV infected gay men during 2015-17. The number of newly HIV infected gay men decreased by a third in just two years. [7]
2995 people were newly diagnosed during 2021 [8] An estimated 42% of diagnoses were late (likely to have been living with the virus for over three years). Late diagnosis is associated with a 10-fold increase in the chance of death during the first year after diagnosis. [9] [10] Risk groups have been identified by various organisations, including National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, National Health Service and the IMPACT trial for pre-exposure prophylaxis. They are:
NHS for HIV [11] [12] | NICE for HIV testing [13] | IMPACT for PrEP access [14] |
---|---|---|
From a country with high rates of HIV | Heterosexual people at risk | |
People who share needles | People who inject drugs | |
People who have received a blood transfusion abroad | ||
Heterosexual with black African ethnicity | ![]() | ![]() |
Men who have sex with men | ||
Trans women who have sex with men | Trans men and trans women | |
People who participate in chemsex | ![]() | |
People diagnosed with any other STI | ![]() | |
Sexual contact with any other risk group | HIV-negative people with HIV-positive partners |
HIV treatment is available free of charge in the UK and as a result 96% of diagnosed are receiving treatment and of those 94% have a suppressed viral load making them very unlikely to pass on the infection. [15] [9] [16] In 2015, less than 1% of people living with a diagnosed HIV infection in the UK died (cause of death is uncertain and may not be HIV-related). All-cause mortality for ages 15–59 in people living with HIV was 5.7 per 1000 compared to 1.7 for the UK population as a whole. [9] People newly diagnosed with HIV today can expect to have a normal life expectancy if they are diagnosed on time and on effective treatment. [17]
In 2017, 39% adults seen for HIV care were 50 years of age or older. [6] This is partly due to improvements to life expectancy for people living with HIV as well as increasing numbers of people acquiring HIV later in life.[ citation needed ]
![]() | The factual accuracy of parts of this article (those related to Pre-exposure prophylaxis) may be compromised due to out-of-date information.(May 2021) |
Access to pre-exposure prophylaxis ("PrEP"), using a drug which can prevent HIV infection, on the National Health Service is partially limited. It was available to high-risk individuals in England through the IMPACT trial, which had a cohort size of 26,000. [18] This was made available following the PROUD trial, a randomised control trial and a high-court battle in 2016. [19] [20] Use of PrEP in London, both as part of a trial and from private purchases, was partially credited in a drop in diagnoses among men who have sex with men, after a five-year plateau in diagnoses. [21] [22] [23]
In Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland PrEP is available free on the NHS from sexual health clinics for those deemed at high risk of acquisition. [1]
Sexual health specialist Mags Portman was credited in making PrEP more accessible to gay and bisexual men in the UK. In October 2018, the Terrence Higgins Trust established the Mags Portman PrEP Access Fund to provide PrEP to those in England and Northern Ireland who cannot afford it. [24] The fund has a maximum size of 1,000 users and was available until the end of 2020. [25]
1979, June: a sample shows a UK transmission to a haemophiliac in the UK. [26]
1981, 12 December: The Lancet publishes a case report of a 49-year-old man who had died in Brompton hospital due to an AIDS related illness in October - the first death in the UK. [27] [28] He was homosexual and a frequent visitor to the United States. [29]
It was finally revealed in November 2021, by the ITV Tonight programme that this first patient was called John Eaddie, a 49 year old guest house proprietor from Harrogate - 40 years after the first mention of a case in a medical journal. [30] Painstaking work from the ITV Tonight team matched a death certificate from 1981, which included the same details revealed in the Lancet - a 49 year old man, dying in the Royal Brompton Hospital of Pneumocystis Pneumonia.[ citation needed ]
1982, 4 July: Terry Higgins dies of an AIDS related illness - leading to the establishment of the Terrence Higgins Trust. [31] [32]
1983: Scottish AIDS Monitor founded to monitor and raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Scotland. [33]
1983, 25 April: BBC broadcasts "Killer in the Village" as part of its Horizon series. The documentary describes the illnesses affecting patients and looks at theories and early research into AIDS. It includes interviews with Linda Laubenstein, Alvin Friedman-Kien, James W. Curran, Michael S. Gottlieb and Bobbi Campbell.
1985: 58 AIDS-related deaths had been recorded in Britain, [34] according to the current affairs series TV Eye, broadcast in 1985. In October, a man with AIDS is detained under the Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1985, marking their first and only use. [35]
1986, 24 March: BBC broadcasts "AIDS: A Strange and Deadly Virus" as part of its Horizon series. The documentary looks at early work to identify the virus and experimental use of AZT.
1987, 9 April: Diana, Princess of Wales, opens the Broderip Ward, a dedicated ward at Middlesex Hospital for the treatment of HIV patients, and notably shakes the hands of AIDS patients without wearing gloves. [36] [37] [38]
1987: The UK Government launched "AIDS: Don't Die of Ignorance", a major public information campaign. A leaflet about AIDS was delivered to every household in the UK, which warned that it is impossible to tell who is infected with the virus. [39]
1991, 24 November: Queen star Freddie Mercury dies of AIDS, just one day after he announced he had the condition. [40]
1994: Scottish Voluntary HIV and AIDS Forum (HIV Scotland) set up in Edinburgh to make policy and advocacy changes and provide support for people living with HIV in Scotland. [41]
1995: Project for HIV and Aids Care and Education (PHACE West) established to provide HIV support, advice and health services for the West of Scotland. [42]
1996: Triple combination therapy (HAART) becomes standard treatment, reducing the death rate. [43] [44]
2003, March : The National AIDS Trust launched a campaign challenging HIV stigma. [45]
2010, 8 April: The Equality Act 2010 qualifies anyone with HIV as disabled and so gives protection against discrimination. [4] [5]
2012: 1 October: Free HIV treatment in England extended to include non-resident overseas visitors. [46] [47]
2012, 23 November: First National HIV Testing Week. [48] [49]
2013, April: HIV Prevention England started a two-year campaign funded by the Department of Health communicating messages about HIV testing and condoms to Africans and MSM.
2015, April: First home testing kits become available, after being legalised in April 2014. [50]
2015, 9 September: Results announced of PROUD study, testing the effectiveness of PrEP on reducing HIV infections in 544 participants. [51] [52]
2016: Results of PARTNER Study show that a person living with HIV, who is on treatment and whose virus is undetectable cannot pass the virus on to anyone else. The 'U=U' campaign and Terrence Higgins Trust's 'Can't Pass It On' campaigns followed shortly after. The PARTNER Study followed other research and studies, such as the Swiss Statement, which provided similar evidence of HIV not being able to be passed on under these stated circumstances. [53]
2017, July: PrEP made available free on the NHS in Scotland. [54]
2017, 3 August: NHS announced trial of PrEP for 10,000 people over three years. [55]
2019, 1 January: NHS announced to increase IMPACT trial size to 26,000.
2019, 22 July: Independent HIV Commission to end new HIV transmissions in England by 2030 launches. [56]
2020, March: UK government announces PrEP will be made freely available in England from April 2020 to anyone at risk. [57]
2021, 1 December: the UK Ministry of Defence announces a commitment to ensuring being HIV+ no longer excludes anyone from joining the armed forces. Any candidates taking PrEP would be welcomed and serving armed forces personnel with HIV are recognised as fully fit. [58]
2022: Accident and Emergency treatment will have opt out testing for blood bourne viruses, a pilot study identified 65 people with HIV not undergoing treatment. In 2023 it was decided to extend this to all hospital settings. [59]
Safe sex is sexual activity using methods or contraceptive devices to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. "Safe sex" is also sometimes referred to as safer sex or protected sex to indicate that some safe sex practices do not eliminate STI risks. It is also sometimes used colloquially to describe methods aimed at preventing pregnancy that may or may not also lower STI risks.
Terrence Higgins Trust is a British charity that campaigns about and provides services relating to HIV and sexual health. In particular, the charity aims to end the transmission of HIV in the UK; to support and empower people living with HIV, to eradicate stigma and discrimination around HIV, and to promote good sexual health.
Terrence Lionel Seymour Higgins was among the first people known to die of an AIDS-related illness in the United Kingdom.
Emtricitabine/tenofovir, sold under the brand name Truvada among others, is a fixed-dose combination antiretroviral medication used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS. It contains the antiretroviral medications emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil. For treatment, it must be used in combination with other antiretroviral medications. For prevention before exposure, in those who are at high risk, it is recommended along with safer sex practices. It does not cure HIV/AIDS. Emtricitabine/tenofovir is taken by mouth.
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. It is a preventable disease. There is no vaccine or cure for HIV. It can be managed with treatment and become a manageable chronic health condition. While there is no cure or vaccine, antiretroviral treatment can slow the course of the disease and enable people living with HIV to lead long and healthy lives. An HIV-positive person on treatment can expect to live a normal life, and die with the virus, not of it. Effective treatment for HIV-positive people involves a life-long regimen of medicine to suppress the virus, making the viral load undetectable. Without treatment it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention, commonly known as PrEP, is the use of antiviral drugs as a strategy for the prevention of HIV/AIDS by people that do not yet have HIV/AIDS. PrEP is one of a number of HIV prevention strategies for people who are HIV-negative but who have a higher risk of acquiring HIV, including sexually-active adults who are at increased risk of contracting HIV, people who engage in intravenous drug use, and serodiscordant sexually-active couples.
Gay Man's Guide to Safer Sex is a safer sex instructional documentary produced by Mike Esser and Tony Carne of Pride Video in association with the Terrence Higgins Trust in 1992. The film was directed by David Lewis and featured a soundtrack by John Balance and Peter Christopherson of Coil. The medical information included in the film is presented by Mike Youle, a British doctor specialising in HIV treatment. In 1997 a sequel was released, directed by Robert Falconer. Gay Man's Guide to Safer Sex '97 featured a radical recut of some of the original scenes asking the British Board of Film Classification to look again at what was permissible and becoming one of the first programmes to discuss the breakthrough of Triple Combination Therapy and the ramifications and personal experiences of living with HIV. The medical information and discussion was again led by Mike Youle. The 1997 film was released on retail video in the UK, Australia and USA and later on DVD. It is still in distribution on DVD.
The history of HIV/AIDS in Australia is distinctive, as Australian government bodies recognised and responded to the AIDS pandemic relatively swiftly, with the implementation of effective disease prevention and public health programs, such as needle and syringe programs (NSPs). As a result, despite significant numbers of at-risk group members contracting the virus in the early period following its discovery, Australia achieved and has maintained a low rate of HIV infection in comparison to the rest of the world.
The National AIDS Trust is a United Kingdom charity with the purpose to stand alongside and defend the rights of everyone living with, affected by or at risk of HIV. Its expertise, research and advocacy secure lasting change to the lives of people living with and at risk of HIV. The charity's key strategic goals are:
Discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS or serophobia is the prejudice, fear, rejection, and stigmatization of people with HIV/AIDS. Marginalized, at-risk groups such as members of the LGBTQ+ community, intravenous drug users, and sex workers are most vulnerable to facing HIV/AIDS discrimination. The consequences of societal stigma against PLHIV are quite severe, as HIV/AIDS discrimination actively hinders access to HIV/AIDS screening and care around the world. Moreover, these negative stigmas become used against members of the LGBTQ+ community in the form of stereotypes held by physicians.
The MSM blood donor controversy in the United Kingdom refers to the former deferral policy of men who have had sex with men (MSM) in the United Kingdom who wish to donate their blood to UK blood donation services. Since June 2021, there is no deferral period in all four home nations. This followed an announcement in December 2020 that blood donation policies specific to MSM would be scrapped in favour of personalised risk assessment based on sexual behaviour.
Since reports of emergence and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States between the 1970s and 1980s, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has frequently been linked to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) by epidemiologists and medical professionals. It was first noticed after doctors discovered clusters of Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in homosexual men in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco in 1981. The first official report on the virus was published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on June 5, 1981, and detailed the cases of five young gay men who were hospitalized with serious infections. A month later, The New York Times reported that 41 homosexuals had been diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma, and eight had died less than 24 months after the diagnosis was made.
National AIDS Trust v NHS Commissioning Board, [2016] EWHC 2005 (Admin), was a court case before the High Court of Justice seeking judicial review regarding National Health Service funding for pre-exposure prophylaxis.
56 Dean Street, based in Dean Street in London's Soho district, is a sexual health clinic. Part of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It also has a second branch, Dean Street Express, located at 34 Dean Street, which offers a sexual disease testing service. As of 2017, the clinic was the largest HIV clinic in Europe. In addition to its specialism in HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, it also offers general sexual health care services, including contraception. The clinic also runs TransPlus - the UK’s first integrated NHS gender dysphoria, sexual health, and HIV service.
Margaret Denise Portman was a British medical doctor who specialised in sexual health. She was an advocate for pre-exposure prophylaxis medication (PrEP) to prevent new HIV cases.
Greg Owen is a UK-born activist who started a website to make generic pre-exposure prophylaxis medication (PrEP) accessible to prevent HIV infection.
Scottish AIDS Monitor (SAM) was a Scottish HIV and AIDS awareness organisation that was active between 1983 and 1996.
Project for HIV and AIDS Care and Education (PHACE) West was Scottish HIV and AIDS awareness organisation that was active in the West of Scotland between 1995 and 2006.
Jonathan Blake is a British gay rights activist and former member of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM). He was one of the first people diagnosed with HIV in the United Kingdom and is one of the country's oldest surviving people with the illness.
HIV/AIDS in Hong Kong was first reported in 1984. As of the end of 2021, 11,232 people have been diagnosed with HIV in Hong Kong. New diagnoses are highest in gay and bisexual men, with 53.5% of new diagnoses occurring in men who have sex with men. The rate of reported transmissions peaked in 2015, and has since decreased by 49.1%.
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