AIDS In The United Kingdom
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
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. 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 Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a ...
(PHE) to better
surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...
and education. PHE has described an "outbreak" in Glasgow amongst people who inject drugs, and has campaigns targeting
men who have sex with men Men who have sex with men (MSM) are men who engage in sexual activity with other men, regardless of their sexual orientation or sexual identity. The term was created by epidemiologists in the 1990s, to better study and communicate the spre ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and other major cities. London was the first city in the world to reach the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
target for HIV, set at 90% of those with HIV diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed on
HAART The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of mu ...
and 90% of those on HAART undetectable. The UK as a whole later achieved the same target. Under the
Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act 2010 (c. 15) is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed during the Brown ministry with the primary purpose of consolidating, updating and supplementing the numerous prior Acts and Regulations, that formed the basis o ...
, it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on their HIV status in the UK.


Demographics

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. In 2017, the prevalence of
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
was estimated at 101,600 (credible interval 99,300 to 106,400) with 92% (credible interval 88 to 94%) diagnosed. Prevalence is highest in gay/bisexual men in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
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). 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. 2995 people were newly diagnosed during 2021 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. Risk groups have been identified by various organisations, including
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care (United Kingdom), Department of Health and Social Care. As the national health technolog ...
,
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
and the IMPACT trial for pre-exposure prophylaxis. They are:


Treatment and prognosis

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. 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. People newly diagnosed with HIV today can expect to have a normal life expectancy if they are diagnosed on time and on effective treatment. In 2017, 39% adults seen for HIV care were 50 years of age or older. 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.


Pre-exposure prophylaxis

Access to
pre-exposure prophylaxis Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), is the use of medications to prevent the spread of disease in people who have not yet been exposed to a disease-causing agent. Vaccination is the most commonly used form of pre-exposure prophylaxis; other forms of ...
("PrEP"), using a drug which can prevent HIV infection, on the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
is partially limited. It was available to high-risk individuals in England through the IMPACT trial, which had a cohort size of 26,000. This was made available following the PROUD trial, a
randomised control trial A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical t ...
and a high-court battle in 2016. 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. In
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, England, Wales and Northern Ireland PrEP is available free on the NHS from
sexual health clinic Sexual health clinics specialize in the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. Terminology Sexual health clinics are also called ''sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics'', ''sexually transmitted infection (STI) clini ...
s for those deemed at high risk of acquisition. 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 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 ...
established the Mags Portman PrEP Access Fund to provide PrEP to those in England and Northern Ireland who cannot afford it. The fund has a maximum size of 1,000 users and was available until the end of 2020.


Timeline

1979, June: a sample shows a UK transmission to a haemophiliac in the UK. 1981, 12 December:
The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...
publishes a case report of a 49-year-old man who had died in
Brompton hospital Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung medical centre in the United Kingdom. It is managed by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. History Consumption in the 19th century In the 19th century, consumption was a co ...
due to an AIDS related illness in October - the first death in the UK. He was homosexual and a frequent visitor to the United States. 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. 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. 1982, 4 July: Terry Higgins dies of an AIDS related illness - leading to the establishment of the
Terrence Higgins Trust 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 ...
. 1983: Scottish AIDS Monitor founded to monitor and raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Scotland. 1983, 25 April:
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
broadcasts "Killer in the Village" as part of its
Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...
series. The documentary describes the illnesses affecting patients and looks at theories and early research into AIDS. It includes interviews with
Linda Laubenstein Linda Jane Laubenstein (May 21, 1947 – August 15, 1992) was an American physician and early HIV/AIDS researcher. She was among the first doctors in the United States to recognize the AIDS epidemic of the early 1980s; she co-authored the first ...
, Alvin Friedman-Kien, James W. Curran,
Michael S. Gottlieb Michael Stuart Gottlieb (born 1947) is an American physician and immunologist known for his 1981 identification of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) as a new disease, and for his HIV/AIDS research, Activism, HIV/AIDS activism, and philanth ...
and
Bobbi Campbell Robert Boyle "Bobbi" Campbell Jr. (January 28, 1952 – August 15, 1984) was a public health nurse and an early United States AIDS activist. In September 1981, Campbell became the 16th person in San Francisco to be diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma ...
. 1985: 58 AIDS-related deaths had been recorded in Britain, 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 The Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1985 was a statutory instrument of the United Kingdom which extended certain parts of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 regarding notifiable diseases to AIDS. Therefore although ...
, marking their first and only use. 1986, 24 March:
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
broadcasts "AIDS: A Strange and Deadly Virus" as part of its
Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...
series. The documentary looks at early work to identify the virus and experimental use of
AZT Zidovudine (ZDV), also known as azidothymidine (AZT), was the first antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use in combination with other antiretrovirals. It may be used to prevent vertica ...
. 1987, 9 April:
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
, opens the Broderip Ward, a dedicated ward at
Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...
for the treatment of HIV patients, and notably shakes the hands of AIDS patients without wearing gloves. 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. 1991, 24 November:
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
star
Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. Regarded as one of the gre ...
dies of AIDS, just one day after he announced he had the condition. 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. 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. 1996: Triple combination therapy (
HAART The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of mu ...
) becomes standard treatment, reducing the death rate. 2003, March : The National AIDS Trust launched a campaign challenging HIV stigma. 2010, 8 April: The
Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act 2010 (c. 15) is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed during the Brown ministry with the primary purpose of consolidating, updating and supplementing the numerous prior Acts and Regulations, that formed the basis o ...
qualifies anyone with HIV as disabled and so gives protection against discrimination. 2012: 1 October: Free HIV treatment in England extended to include non-resident overseas visitors. 2012, 23 November: First National HIV Testing Week. 2013, April: HIV Prevention England started a two-year campaign funded by the
Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...
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. 2015, 9 September: Results announced of PROUD study, testing the effectiveness of PrEP on reducing HIV infections in 544 participants. 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. 2017, July:
PrEP PowerPC Reference Platform (PReP) was a standard system architecture for PowerPC-based computer systems (as well as a reference implementation) developed at the same time as the PowerPC processor architecture. Published by IBM in 1994, it allow ...
made available free on the NHS in Scotland. 2017, 3 August: NHS announced trial of PrEP for 10,000 people over three years. 2019, 1 January: NHS announced to increase IMPACT trial size to 26,000. 2019, 22 July: Independen
HIV Commission
to end new HIV transmissions in England by 2030 launches. 2020, March: UK government announces PrEP will be made freely available in England from April 2020 to anyone at risk. 2021, 1 December: the UK
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
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. 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.


See also

* National AIDS Trust *
Terrence Higgins Trust 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 ...
*
Avert Avert is an international charity with a focus on HIV and associated issues. Between 1986 and 2024 Avert supported inclusive, non-judgemental information services, sponsored medical research that others refused to fund, and supported local o ...
* Ensuring Positive Futures * Tainted blood scandal (United Kingdom) *
Health in the United Kingdom Health in the United Kingdom refers to the overall health of the population of the United Kingdom. This includes overall trends such as life expectancy and mortality rates, mental health of the population and the suicide rate, smoking rates, a ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:HIV AIDS in the United Kingdom