UK: HIV rise in gay men blamed on fall in condom use

Rising trend of unprotected sex is being blamed for HIV spike. The increasing number of gay and bisexual men contracting HIV in the UK has been blamed on a rise in the number having unprotected sex, new research has revealed .The number of homosexual men in the UK having sex without a condom rose by 26 per cent between 1990 and 2010, a study by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and University College London (UCL) shows.
As a result, say researchers, rates of HIV have risen in recent years with the latest figures showing one in 20 gay men are now infected with the disease – an all-time high for Britain. The figure is higher in the country’s capital London, where one in 12 gay men is thought to have HIV.
The report, published in the Plos journal, found that wider use of anti-retroviral drugs has helped to prevent a sharper rise, concluding that that these drugs should be prescribed from the moment of diagnosis.
Therapy with anti-retrovirals lowers the risk of people with HIV infecting others, thus an increase in use could lower the HIV rate in gay men by nearly 32 percent.
The report also said the figures showed it is vital to promote safe sex. Last November, the HPA said that a record number of people in the UK were living with HIV, with the number of people with the virus reaching 96,000.
Co-author Dr Valerie Delpech, head of HIV surveillance at the HPA, said: "Everyone should use a condom when having sex with new or casual partners, until all partners have had a sexual health screen.
"We also encourage men who have sex with men to get an HIV and STI screen at least annually, and every three months if having condomless sex with new or casual partners - and clinicians to take every opportunity to recommend HIV testing to this group," she added.
Sir Nick Partridge, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said condom use by gay men had played a key part in containing the spread the disease in the UK.
"Without it, there would have been 80,000 more gay men with HIV between 2000 and 2010."
He urged health authorities to adopt a combined HIV strategy of promoting condoms, increasing regular HIV testing and encouraging the earlier use of anti-HIV drug therapy.