Congratulations UK men!
According to a recent report from Public Health England, the United Kingdom has seen a drop in new HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men. Specifically, the report shows that there were 1,700 new HIV diagnoses of gay or bisexual men in 2019. The diagnosis rate declined by 10 percent from the prior year. This marks the newest low in 20-years, after 2000’s 1,500 diagnoses.
As for straight citizens in the UK, 1,600 were diagnosed in 2019. This is the first time that numbers between straight, gay, and bisexual people have been so close, according to BBC News.
But what has caused this dip in UK’s diagnoses? Again, the information comes from 2019, so the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns are not the cause. Instead, health experts believe the cause is an increase in awareness of condoms, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), HIV testing, and other better health practices.
“Frequent HIV testing, the offer of PrEP among those most at risk of HIV, together with prompt treatment among those diagnosed, remain key to ending HIV transmission by 2030,” says Dr Valerie Delpech, head of HIV surveillance at PHE.
She then added, “Further progress can only be achieved if we also address the inequalities in reducing HIV transmission that exist around sexuality, ethnicity and geography.”
Source: BBC News,
