UK HIV & AIDS News

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Around 63,500 adults now living with HIV in the UK

24th November 2006
 

An estimated 63,500 adults are now living with HIV in the United Kingdom, according to the latest report from the UK’s Health Protection Agency.

It is now 25 years since the first case of AIDS was reported in the UK, and while HIV infection rates dropped in the late 1980s and early 1990s following a powerful public health campaign, they have risen substantially in recent years.

7,450 new HIV diagnoses were made in 2005; a figure that will probably rise as more cases are belatedly reported.  This compares to 7,492 diagnosed cases in 2004 and 7,283 in 2003.  Such increases are smaller than those seen in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when around 500 extra people were being diagnosed every year, leading some at the HPA to speculate that the epidemic may be levelling off in the UK.

The number of diagnoses does not however represent the number of people who have been newly infected in the UK.  The HPA estimates that 20,100 (32%) of the 63,500 people living with HIV in Britain today do not know they have the virus.

Of particular concern are men who have sex with men (MSM).  2,356 new diagnoses were made in 2005 amongst MSM, the highest number ever recorded since the beginning of the epidemic.  The prevalence of previously undiagnosed HIV infection amongst MSM in the UK now stands at 3.2%, or about 1 in 30.

Black and minority ethnic (BME) populations living in the UK are also at a higher risk of HIV.  Nearly two-thirds of diagnoses made in 2005 were amongst BME populations, and the current prevalence of HIV among black Africans living in the UK now stands at 3.6%.

“The global HIV epidemic continues to affect Black and ethnic minority populations in the UK,” said Dr Valerie Delpech, an HIV expert at the HPA.  “Although the majority of these are contracted in countries of higher prevalence and particularly through links with Africa, more of these cases are now being contracted within the UK . The number of reports of HIV-infected black Africans who contracted their infection in the UK increased from 43 in 2000 to 182 in 2005.”

Professor Pat Troop, Chief Executive of the Health Protection Agency added, “Over the last 25 years there have been key successes in the control and management of HIV and the Agency is tasked with taking forward a number of initiatives such as the National Chlamydia Screening Programme and monitoring of waiting times at genitourinary medicine [GUM] clinics.”

Waiting times for clinic appointments are supposed to be no more than 48 hours according to government targets, but many people have to wait far longer.  Given that workloads at GUM clinics have increased by 268% since 1996, this is perhaps not surprising.

790,443 cases of other sexually transmitted infections were identified in 2005, with chlamydia diagnoses rising by 5% on 2004 figures, and syphilis rising by 23%.  Gonorrhoea however fell by 13% to 19,392 cases in 2005, although levels of antibiotic resistant strains of gonorrhoea increased to 22% in England and Wales in 2005.

To find out more about HIV and STIs in the UK, please visit our UK section.


 (HPA "A Complex Picture" report and press release, 22/1106)

 

Migration and HIV misunderstood in the UK

16th November 2006
 

A new report published this week by the UK’s Health Protection Agency has highlighted a problem of late diagnosis of HIV infection amongst the migrant population of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and has caused confusion in the tabloid press.

The report, “Migrant Health”, found that amongst the 4,253 people that were diagnosed with HIV in 2004 and had their place of birth recorded, approximately 70% were from abroad.  The most common country of origin was Zimbabwe, whose current dire economic crisis and appalling track record on basic human rights have led many to seek asylum in the UK.  Zimbabwe has an adult HIV prevalence of 20% but the current economic conditions mean that access to antiretroviral treatment is severely limited.  Often there is little choice but to move to somewhere where HIV treatment is available to avoid death.

The report does however state that around a third of non-UK born residents receiving HIV diagnoses do so at least two years after their arrival in the United Kingdom, suggesting that fears of ‘health tourism’, (whereby migrants come to the UK specifically to receive treatment) are perhaps unfounded.  In addition, around 92% of migrants receiving a positive HIV diagnosis will also receive a diagnosis of AIDS within three months, meaning they have probably delayed coming forward for HIV testing for a long time.  Delaying testing and treatment can lead to a person developing a range of serious opportunistic infections, putting additional strain on emergency care services, and causing unnecessary suffering to both them and their families.  The report recommends that the problems be addressed, and that greater efforts be made to make healthcare accessible to the migrant population.

One barrier to achieving this goal however is the fact that migrants who are here illegally, or whose asylum applications have failed, have to pay for antiretroviral treatment on the National Health Service.  Very few can afford the charges, so will instead avoid health care services altogether.

Despite some worrying statistics, the HPA report is keen to stress that only a very small proportion of migrants have any health problems, and that that the UK is not on the verge of any sort of widespread HIV epidemic.

“HIV can be associated with stigma in many communities and … addressing stigma requires culturally appropriate approaches with the affected groups as well as education of the wider UK population,” the report states.

“The general public need to be reassured that they cannot acquire HIV through normal social contact with affected individuals. This will help to avoid the misconception that the non-UK born pose a health threat to the general population which can lead to prejudice that is unlikely to contribute to overall HIV control.”

Despite this recommendation, the findings have been interpreted in unhelpful and confusing ways by some newspapers.

On Thursday, The Sun newspaper ran an article claiming that the wave of new migrants from Romania and Bulgaria that is expected when those countries join the EU, could lead to a serious “explosion” in cases of HIV.

Such dire warnings are entirely unfounded.  The vast majority of migrants with HIV come from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV prevalence is very high.  Romania and Bulgaria by comparison have some of the lowest HIV rates in the world, and indeed in Europe. The number of people living with HIV in Romania totals an estimated 7,000 according to UNAIDS; less than 0.1% of their population.  In Bulgaria, the numbers living with HIV are even lower - fewer than 500 people are thought to have the virus (again, under 0.1% of the population).  This compares to 150,000 in Italy (0.5%), 140,000 in Spain (0.6%), 130,000 people in France (0.4%) and 68,000 people in the UK (0.2%).  

In fact, with our higher HIV prevalence, people living in the UK pose a much greater ‘AIDS threat’ to Bulgarians and Romanians, than they do to us.

To find out more about HIV in the UK, please visit our UK section


 ("Migrant Health" report and The Sun, 16/11/06)

 

UK government launches new sexual health campaign

13th November 2006
 

A new national government-funded campaign on sexual health was launched on Saturday in an attempt to combat the exponential rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) being seen across the United Kingdom.

The visual campaign, which incorporates television and print advertisements, depicts young people displaying the names STIs on their clothing in place of the usual designer logos.  It then goes on to encourage young people to use a condom with the phrase “Condoms: essential wear.”  The TV adverts will appear on Channel 4, Five and various digital channels, while print adverts will feature in popular young people’s magazines.  Radio adverts that have been produced in a similar style will also discuss the physical effects of STIs.

The campaign is aimed at 18-24 year olds, the group judged most likely to transmit and become infected with STIs, and is designed to complement a number of more low-key web-based programmes (such as the ‘R U Thinking?’ campaign) aimed at younger teens.

It is twenty years since the government ran the last major TV campaign on sexual health, which featured the famous slogan “AIDS: Don’t Die Of Ignorance” engraved on a tombstone.  The advert, and an accompanying leaflet that was delivered to every home, had a considerable impact on the rates of transmission of all sexually transmitted infections.  Fear of AIDS dramatically reduced the number of people having unprotected sex, an effect that lasted until the mid-1990s.  As people’s memories of the campaign faded however, so HIV and other STI infections began to rise.  Today, many doctors are warning that common STI infections, such as chlamydia and herpes, are at near-epidemic proportions, with more serious illness, such as HIV and syphilis also spreading rapidly.

"Some STIs like chlamydia are on the increase amongst 18 to 24 year-olds and it is vital that we deliver strong messages about using condoms to prevent them,” said the Public Health Minister, Caroline Flint at the launch of the campaign.

“The aim of this campaign is to make carrying and using a condom among this age group as familiar as carrying a mobile phone, lipstick or putting on a seat-belt. This is not about encouraging promiscuity, but saying to those who are already sexually active: sex without a condom is seriously risky, so always use one.”

While most sexual health groups have welcomed the long-overdue campaign, there are those who have said it does not go far enough.  The original budget for the programme announced back in 2003 was £50 million.  The current campaign has cost just £4 million, leaving a potential £46 million still to be spent.

Caroline Flint has said that the £50 million total is meant to be spent over three years.  It is however three years since the campaign was first announced, and there have been no promises made that the rest of the allotted cash will be used at any point in the future.

Perhaps one reason why the campaign has been restricted in its scope is the fact that Britain’s sexual health services are simply not in a fit state to accept the huge influx of extra patients that are likely to seek screening as a result of more widespread advertisements.  £300 million was promised to improve and modernise Genitourinary Medicine (GUM) services back in 2003, but because the cash was not specifically earmarked for sexual health, many National Health Service Primary Care Trusts have used the money to dig themselves out of debt instead.  Most GUM clinics therefore remain understaffed and overstretched, with patients lucky to be seen in two weeks rather than the two days recommended by the Department of Health.

Another reason for the restriction may be that fact that the government is squeamish about discussing sexual health on television before the 9 o’clock watershed, when younger viewers may be watching.  Aiming the campaign at 18 – 24 year olds overcomes this problem.  However, while some STIs, such as chlamydia, are statistically most common in this age group, STIs do also affect younger (and older) people in significant numbers, and there is a danger that using very age-specific campaigns could lead other groups to believe they are not at risk.

A survey released this week for example has shown that many teens are having sex for the first time before the legal age of sixteen, with girls twice as likely as boys to lose their virginity before this age.  While the government does have some online and print campaigns aimed at younger teenagers, these are very low key, and their reach and impact has never been officially assessed.  Encouraging condom use may well be inappropriate for younger teens, but there is currently little in the way of support for those who wish to wait until they are older to have sex, and indeed many may not recognise it as an option.  Sex and relationships education remains non-compulsory in schools outside the scope of basic science lessons.

With 95,000 people receiving diagnoses of Chlamydia last year, and 58,000 people now living with HIV in the UK, sexual health has to be made a far bigger priority.  The tombstone advertisements of the 1980s may have been overly-dramatic by today’s standards, but the fact that they were targeted at everyone in the country meant that AIDS became an issue of national importance that few people were ignorant of.  The campaign changed cultural norms, and made sex without a condom simply unacceptable.  The current adverts are a welcome first step towards a return to this way of thinking, but it seems unlikely they will have any true or lasting affect unless the campaign is sustained and broadened out to a wider audience.


(HPA, DOH press release & BBC.co.uk, 11/11/06)
 

Sexual health services getting worse not better, says top UK expert

3rd November 2006
 

A report by Channel 4 News has highlighted massive underfunding and cutbacks in the UK's sexual health services, at a time when diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections are soaring.

In November 2004, the Department of Health promised a £300 million, three-year programme to "modernise and transform sexual health services in England." However, as was revealed in August, more than 80% of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) have chosen not to use this money solely for the intended purpose; much of the "sexual health" budget has in fact gone towards paying off debts. The Channel 4 News report looked at the impact of the resultant underfunding.

"The allocation for this area was over £200,000 recurrently," said Dr Colm O'Mahoney, a hospital consultant who two years ago helped the government determine how much spending was needed. "The PCT I work in has a £42.5 million debt and they're using all of the money to bail out that debt." Of the £200,000, he has received "not one single penny".

Part of the Department of Health's strategy was a national chlamydia screening programme, which aimed to cover the whole of England by March 2007. That target is now unlikely to be met. At least 30 PCTs have already withheld money from screening, according to Channel 4 News, and another two trusts have actually suspended their screening programmes.

Wirral Chlamydia Screening Programme was the first of its kind, and served as a model for the national screening programme, yet today it does not screen significantly more people than it did three or four years ago. Its director, Dr Jenny Hopwood, said the situation was "serious" and that an outside observer would probably not judge the programme a success.

According to Dr Kate Guthrie of the Faculty of Planning and Reproductive Health, Wirral is far from an exceptional case:

"Clinics have been cut, senior staff have not been replaced, the hours of clinics are being altered because it's cheaper to run during the day, but actually their clientele want them in the evenings and at weekends," she said. "We can't provide some of the more expensive yet very effective methods of contraception, and we sometimes haven't even got enough support staff to keep the clinics open."

"No one is prepared to take any responsibility for this and I'm very saddened indeed," said Professor Mike Adler, the UK's most senior sexual health consultant, who five years ago wrote the national sexual health strategy. "I had obviously hoped that having the very first sexual health strategy would be the beginning of a minor revolution... That has not happened... things have got worse."

Another victim of underfunding is the long-awaited public awareness campaign, which is now nearly a year and a half overdue. The messages should start being broadcast in a few weeks' time, but they are unlikely to have as much impact as was planned. Only £7.5 million will be spent on the campaign, instead of the £50 million promised by government.

In response to Channel 4 News' findings, Public Health Minister Caroline Flint said she was "disappointed" that so many sexual health experts were critical of the government's performance. She said that it was up to PCTs to decide how to spend the money they were given, and that the introduction of a national chlamydia screening programme and over-the-counter testing kits were among recent positive developments.

AVERT.org has more about STD statistics and sexual health in the UK.


(Channel 4 News, 02/11/06)
 

Children across London to learn about HIV and AIDS

2nd November 2006
 

Schools across London in the UK are being provided with an HIV and AIDS education kit in a new initiative to raise awareness about the illness by the charity Crusaid.

The “Aware!” media kit is designed to fulfill the ‘media studies’ component of the compulsory GCSE English syllabus.  It asks pupils to watch a number of historical AIDS awareness campaigns, such as the famous Tombstone adverts of the 1980s, and then create a media campaign of their own.

The idea is that the project will not only inspire creativity and help students to understand modern media producation processes, but will also gave them vital knowledge about HIV and AIDS.

"Teachers involved in the pilot have welcomed the pack which tackles the sensitive subject of HIV and Aids as part of regular coursework, making it easier for children and adults to discuss these issues openly,” said Steven Inman, head of grants and projects at Crusaid.


"This is a vital step toward a national HIV and Aids prevention drive in schools.”

The kit has initially been sent only to schools in London, but it is hoped that Crusaid will eventually be able to secure government funding so that it can be distributed nationwide.

To learn more about HIV and Aids education, please visit our HIV & AIDS education section.


(24dash.com, 01/11/06 & Crusaid Education website)

 

Church of England appoints HIV+ priest

11th September 2006
 

 For the first time in the UK, a clergyman living with HIV has been appointed as a parish priest.

The new vicar, who has asked not to be named, will take up his post at a church in London later this month.  He was appointed by an assistant bishop known to be a supporter of the campaign to allow gay clergymen to practice as priests within the Church of England.  The priest is believed to be openly gay, but has pledged to refrain from sexual activity while in office in accordance with Church of England rules. He replaces another priest - also thought to be gay - who recently died.

Over the past 15 years, around 25 to 20 members of the CofE clergy are believed to have died of AIDS related causes, though this is the first time that a man known to have HIV has been licensed as a priest.  His appointment is likely to anger those within the Church of England who do not support the employment of gay clergy, and intensify the argument within the Anglican community as a whole.

However, pro-gay members of the church are said to be very pleased with his appointment. “This appointment is a sign of the church being grown-up and living in the real world,” said one bishop.  “The priest has a ministry to offer and clearly there is a welcome for him in his parish.”


(The Sunday Times, 10/09/06)

 

 

One in three English teens have used condoms incorrectly

11th August 2006
 

Many teenagers in England are not using condoms correctly, according to a study published this week.

Researchers asked 1,373 young people in four areas of England to complete a questionnaire about their sexual experiences, and 108 of these people also kept a diary of their sex lives for 6 months. The results showed that 47% of the teenagers had ever had vaginal sex, and 62% of them reported condom use on the most recent occasion. Among these condom users, six per cent reported applying the condom after initial penetration, and another six per cent removed the condom before stopping sex.

Among those who kept diaries, 31% said they had experienced late condom application at least once during the six month period, and 9% reported early removal.

The most common reasons given for applying a condom late were intimacy, that it feels better without, that other contraception was used, and that they got carried away. Only in one instance was a condom applied late in an attempt to prevent sexually transmitted infections - on all other occasions teenagers were more worried about avoiding pregnancy, preventing mess or making sex last longer.

Young people who lacked confidence in their knowledge of correct condom usage were more likely to use condoms inconsistently. Those who reported a close relationship with their mother during their early teenage years were less likely to use condoms imperfectly.

The authors of the study say their findings cast doubt on the validity of asking teenagers simply whether they use condoms or not, without investigating how those condoms are used. They say that it is important for public health policies and programmes to address imperfect condom use and its causes.

"It is essential that young people understand the importance of using condoms consistently and correctly, and are also equipped with the skills and knowledge to do so," conclude the authors. This statement is especially timely given recent increases in sexually transmitted infections in the UK.


(STI journal, 10/08/06)

 

 

HIV+ man sentenced to 40 months in prison

7th August 2006
 

 An HIV positive British man has been sentenced to forty months in prison, despite being on the run from the police.

Mark James, of Burgess Hill in West Sussex disappeared last month while on bail, prompting police to issue a warrant for his arrest.  He had previously admitted causing ‘biological’ grievous bodily harm, but subsequently tried to change his plea to not-guilty claiming that he had received poor legal advice.  The judge rejected his request, and last week sentenced him to four years and three months in jail, a term that will begin as soon as he is found.

Mr James tested positive for HIV and syphilis in 2004, but failed to tell his partner of his condition.  His partner only became aware of his status when he also tested positive while in hospital for symptoms related to acute HIV infection.  

His partner asserted that James deliberately tried to infect him with HIV, a claim that both the judge and James himself rejected.  However, the judge did find James guilty of recklessly transmitting the virus, a charge that has been used in all criminal prosecutions for HIV in the UK to date.  This is the first time a gay couple has been involved in a criminal case.

Many HIV organisations are against the criminalisation of HIV positive people unless it can be definitively proven that the transmission of the virus was deliberate.  As well as doing little to deter people from not disclosing their status (if anything it encourages it by increasing the stigma), most organisations argue that placing the emphasis on the HIV positive person to use condoms does not encourage HIV negative people (or people who do not know their status) to see condom use as their responsibility too.

AVERT.org has more about reckless transmission of HIV on our criminal transmission page.


 (BBC.co.uk, 27/07/06 & aidsmap.com, 04/08/06)

 

UK sexual health funding goes astray

2nd August 2006
 

 Much of the £300 million earmarked to improve sexual health services in the UK has been spent on digging local NHS services out of debt, a new report has revealed.

The Independent Advisory Group (IAG) on Sexual Health and HIV found that out of 191 NHS Primary Care Trusts surveyed, only 30 were actually spending the money exclusively on sexual health services.  The rest were using some or all of their allocation to fill funding gaps and combat overspending on hospitals, drugs and GP services.

When the extra £300 million was proposed by the government two years ago, many sexual health organisations warned that the cash would go astray, because the government failed to set strict guidelines on how it should be used.  Today’s report therefore comes a no surprise to many working in the field.

“It was obvious even two years ago that the NHS was facing a financial crisis, so it was inevitable that without ring fencing, much of this money wouldn’t reach its intended destination,” said a spokesperson for AVERT.  "And yet still the government is refusing to insist that this £300 million is actually spent on the services it is meant for."

“It would be a great disappointment if the nation's sexual health were sacrificed on the altar of financial balance in the NHS” added Nick Partridge from the Terrence Higgins Trust.

Levels of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections have been increasing steadily in the UK for several years, and are currently at the highest levels ever recorded. Many Genitourinary Medicine (GUM) clinics are in desperate need of modernisation and expansion to cope with these increasing numbers.

"The IAG believes that it is essential that strategic health authorities and PCTs recognise that investment in frontline sexual health services will save them a great deal of money in the future,” said Baroness Gould, chairperson of the IAG.  “Better sexual health services bring benefits for patients as well as delivering cost savings for the NHS by reducing the number of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies."


AVERT.org has more about HIV & STDs in the UK


(The Guardian & BBC.co.uk, 02/08/06)

 

UK shows success in reducing Mother to Child Transmission

1st August 2006
 

 A new report published by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has found that 90% of women are now agreeing to take an HIV test during their pregnancy in the UK.  This compares to just 30% in 1997 before ‘opt-out’ testing (whereby a woman is given an HIV test automatically unless she specifically states she does not want one) was introduced.

In 1997, around 20% of infants born to mothers with HIV became infected because of poor testing rates.  By 2004, the figure stood at just 4%.  However, although the proportion of babies who acquire HIV from their mothers has fallen significantly, the number of pregnant HIV+ women being cared for in the UK has risen dramatically, meaning that the actual number of babies being born with HIV has not dropped all that much.  Some babies are also acquiring HIV despite the full range of prevention-of-mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) methods being employed.


1504 children were born to HIV+ mothers in the UK and Ireland in the 9 years between 1990 and 1999.  505 of these children (34%) were found to be HIV+.  This compares to 1120 children who were born to HIV+ women in 2004 alone.  25 (2%) of these children were diagnosed as HIV+, 202 (18%) received indeterminate results, and 893 (80%) were found to be HIV negative. 

“Antenatal screening has contributed significantly to the early detection of HIV positive women,” said Dr Fortune Ncube, a blood borne virus expert at the Health Protection Agency.  “In addition to the benefits of reducing vertical transmission, women in knowing their status have benefited from optimal HIV care and therapy. It is important to stress however that this improving situation can only be maintained if a high uptake of antenatal testing is sustained.”

AVERT has more about mother to child transmission of HIV on our HIV / AIDS and Pregnancy, our PMTCT and our HIV testing in Pregnancy pages.


 (RCPCH report, July 2006, and National Study of HIV in Pregnancy and Childhood Quarterly Update, No. 67, July 2006)

 

HIV on the increase in Scottish seniors

19th July 2006
 
New data published by Health Protection Scotland has found an alarming increase in the numbers of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) identified among people over the age of 50.  

STI diagnoses in senior Scots have trebled over the past five years, with HIV, chlamydia and herpes all becoming more common.

In 2000, just 0.7% of over-50s testing for HIV received a positive result.  By 2005 this figure stood at 2.2%.  Diagnoses of chlamydia also rose from 43 cases in 2000, to 91 in 2005, and herpes cases increased from 32 to 107 during the same period.

The current figures reflect a general rise in STIs in all age groups, but they are also indicative of a change in sexual behaviour amongst people in their senior years.  Higher divorce rates, better health (leading to more sex) and “swinging” (partner swapping) have all been blamed for the increase, as has the fact that many people over the age of 50 will have entirely missed out on messages about STIs and safer sex in their younger years.

"There is nothing unusual in people in their 70s or 80s visiting us,” said Dr Rak Nandwani of the Sandyford Initiative sexual health unit in Glasgow.  "We must get rid of the idea sex is something that stops when you hit 50."

AVERT has more information about HIV in older people across the globe.

 


(The Daily Record, 19/07/06)

 

 

UK policy on HIV and asylum seekers 'violates human rights', says BMJ

14th July 2006
 
The UK government’s policy of denying treatment to failed asylum seekers living with HIV is a violation of international human rights law, according to an editorial published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) this week.

In the past, UK law granted free access to treatment to all those who had resided in the UK for twelve months or more, including failed asylum seekers and others living in the country without due authority. This meant that the majority of overseas visitors who required HIV treatment had access to it.

Since 2004, though, legislation has dictated that HIV treatment is only available for free to those living in the country legally, meaning that failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants must pay for any treatment that they recieve. Given that members of these groups are not allowed to work in the UK and are often poor, many simply cannot afford the charges.

The government claims that the aim of this legislation is to prevent ‘treatment tourism’, where people come to the country with the aim of benefiting from free healthcare that they do not receive in their native country. If HIV treatment were made available for free to everyone, they argue, the NHS would be overwhelmed by large numbers of patients from countries where no such treatment is available, especially developing countries that have a high level of HIV infection.

Yet a number of organisations have argued that denying medical care to any individual whose health is at risk is unethical and inhumane, regardless of whether they are residing in the country legally or not.

Writing in this week’s BMJ, Peter Hall (chair of the group Doctors for Human Rights) furthers this argument with the claim that the UK’s policy is in violation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This treaty has been adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (of which the UK is a member) since 1966. It sets guidelines on human rights that member states are obliged to follow, including a commitment to “recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”.

The current regulations on failed asylum seekers are not in line with this clause, Hall argues, and the UK government is therefore failing to respect the international agreement. He also claims that the legislation compromises the position of doctors, who are naturally trained to provide help to those who need it, and infringes on international and domestic ethical codes. He joins a variety of other individuals and groups, including the House of Commons Health Committee, who have spoken out against the policy.

To read more about this issue, see our HIV, Immigrants and Immigration in the UK page.

(aidsmap.co.uk, 14/07/06)
 

UK STIs still on the rise

4th July 2006
 

The number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) diagnosed annually in the UK is still rising a new Health Protection Agency report has found.

Cases of Chlamydia, the most common STI in the UK, increased by 5% in 2005, although gonorrhea fell by 13% on 2004 figures, the second year in a row that levels have dropped.  Overall, there was a 3% rise in all STIs diagnosed.

Of particular concern for officials was a significant increase in the number of new syphilis diagnoses, which went up by 23 percent from 2,278 in 2004 to 2,807 in 2005.

Most syphilis cases over the past decade have occurred in gay men in the UK.  However, the HPA say the infection is being identified in women with increasing frequency.  The increase in cases was almost two and a half times higher in women than among men in 2005.

Professor Peter Borriello, director of the HPA's Center for Infections, said that while the fall in gonorrhea was good news, the overall rise in figures gave cause for concern.

"It is disappointing to see that there was a further rise in new diagnoses of STIs in 2005," he said in a press statement.

"Today's figures serve as a reminder for people to take responsibility for their own sexual health and that of their partners, and to use a condom with new and casual partners."

AVERT has more about the STI statistics in the UK


 (HPA & Reuters, 04/07/06)

 

UK woman sent to jail for transmitting HIV

20th June 2006
 

A second British woman has been sent to jail for infecting a lover with HIV.

Sarah Jane Porter knew that she had HIV when she embarked on a two-year relationship with her partner, a 31-year-old DJ from London, but had repeated unprotected sex with him and failed to inform him of her status, resulting in him becoming infected with HIV himself.  When he told her of his HIV+ test result, she then accused him of having infected her.

Psychologists told the court that Miss Porter was in complete denial about her HIV+ status and very fearful of the social stigma attached to it, which meant she felt unable to admit her condition.  She did however plead guilty to charges of recklessly causing Grievous Bodily Harm in court, and expressed regret at the hurt she had caused.  She was sentenced to 32 months in jail.

This case is the latest in a series of criminal HIV transmission cases in England and Wales, which many AIDS organisations say shows a worrying return of the culture of blame and stigma that surrounded the epidemic in the early years.

AVERT, like a number of other HIV and AIDS charities, is sympathetic to anyone who becomes infected with HIV and strongly discourages anyone from concealing their HIV+ status from their partner.  We fully recognise the distress caused by a positive HIV test result, the difficulties of living with HIV, and the betrayal felt by those who have been infected by the person they love, so we can understand why the individual in this case chose to pursue this matter in a court of law.

However, AVERT also holds the position that the current method of criminalising ‘reckless’ transmission is very unhelpful from the perspective of public health and that of discrimination and stigma.

The fact that reckless HIV transmission is now potentially a criminal matter, means that the police are assuming they have the right to fully investigate anyone they suspect of having passed on HIV, sometimes on the most tenuous of hear-say evidence.  The original complaint against Miss Porter was filed by a man with whom she had recently split up.  This man was HIV negative, but his account lead police to search Miss Porter's flat for evidence of previous partners, an investigation which eventually led them to a 31-year old DJ, who was HIV+ and willing to take his former girlfriend to court.  Such investigations represent a gross invasion of privacy, and paint a worrying picture of a police force that is wasting many man hours actively tracking down and encouraging former partners to make a complaint.  Such activity may be portrayed as justified in cases such as Miss Porter's, where a conviction was ultimately obtained, but it is believed that in many instances, police will raid homes and seize medical records of entirely innocent people, purely on the basis of a complaint from a former lover seeking revenge.

When cases such as Miss Porter's do then get taken to court, they often end in prison sentences for the defendant. UK prisons are already overcrowded, and many studies have shown that HIV transmission inside prisons is a common occurance.  A prison sentence is also unlikely to help the guilty party (or indeed the victim) come to terms with their HIV status or change their behaviour, nor is it going to act as a deterrent to others – the law rarely features as a point of consideration in the bedroom, as is evident from the huge numbers of young people that have sex under age.  We therefore believe that if criminal prosecutions are to take place at all, psychological counselling to help end their denial about their status would be a far more useful outcome, and better still, HIV campaigns and education should be made far more prominent to help people protect themselves from infection in the first place.

High profile court cases on such personal relationship matters are often lengthy, and highly stressful for both sides (indeed, a number of ‘victims’ now regret having tried to get justice through a court of law).  They can also heighten the stigma and idea of blame around the disease (which is one of the reasons why Miss Porter failed to tell her partner about it in the first place) and could put people off testing for HIV, in the belief that if they don’t know their status, they can’t get prosecuted.  Finally, they also place the responsibility for using condoms on one person, when it should of course be a shared decision wherever possible.

In light of these complexities, and indeed many others that are further discussed in our Criminal Transmission Page, AVERT believes that there needs to be a thorough review of the law in this area, to provide guidance to the police, judges and the press on how to handle cases such as these, and to ensure that stigma, misinformation and damage to public health are kept to a minimum.


 (The Independent, 20/06/06 and BBC.co.uk, 19/06/06)

 

Two new progress reports released on HIV in the UK

7th June 2006
 

Two reports, one by the UK AIDS and Human Rights Project (AHRP), the other by the National AIDS Trust (NAT) have both praised the UK’s record of funding and supporting HIV and AIDS programmes overseas, but say that the HIV epidemic in the country itself is being overlooked.

The United Nation's General Assembly (UNGASS) Declaration of Commitment on HIV and AIDS outlines the action that every member state must take in order to tackle HIV and AIDS in their country.  Many see the UNGASS declaration, which was updated and renewed at last week’s high level UN meeting on HIV/AIDS, as a commitment that only applies to poor countries carrying the greatest burden of HIV.  However, the declaration is equally applicable within countries more traditionally seen as aid ‘donors’, including the UK.

With 7750 new infections diagnosed in 2005 alone, the United Kingdom has one of the highest rates of HIV in Western Europe.  Yet according the NAT report, in the last two years, there has not been a single speech given by the Prime Minister or any Cabinet Minister focussing on the problem in the UK.  The National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV has not been updated or even reviewed since 2001, and there are no firm governmental targets relating to the reduction of HIV infection in the population.  The budget for HIV prevention is also decreasing, particularly in London, where the majority of cases are diagnosed.

The AHRP report also reveals that the UK Department of Health failed to submit a report on its progress towards achieving the Declaration of Commitment goals before the UN's deadline in December.

Such information has worried many AIDS organisations in the UK, who fear that the recent focus on AIDS in Africa is leading people (and apparently the government) to believe that it is no longer a problem in the country.

There is however some good news.  Treatment of HIV in the UK is second-to-none, with everyone entitled to treatment receiving optimal care.  The Disability Discrimination Act now ensures that HIV+ people cannot legally be discriminated against, and mother-to-child transmission has been reduced dramatically over the past 10 years thanks to the implementation of opt-out antenatal HIV screening.  Some policies relating to the controversial area of HIV and migration have also been improved, with HIV+ asylum seekers now only being ‘dispersed’ around the country if they can be guaranteed access to HIV care and uninterrupted treatment.  Failed asylum-seekers and undocumented immigrants however still continue to face unaffordable charges for National Health Service HIV treatment, and the threat of deportation back to a country where HIV drugs are either scarce or non-existent.

Both reports now call for the UK government to renew its commitments on AIDS, to stem the annual rise in new cases and ensure that all those affected by the illness in the UK receive appropriate care and support.

AVERT.org has more about HIV in the UK


 (UK AHRP UNGASS Report, March 2006 & NAT report, June 2006)

 

A Big Smile for youngsters with HIV

1st June 2006
 

Trafalgar Square in London will tomorrow be transformed into a family fun zone in an effort to raise money for Body and Soul, a UK charity that supports children, young people and families living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.

The Big Smile event is being held to mark the beginning of a major new six month campaign, A Smile is a Gift, that aims to address the stigma and prejudice that still surround HIV in the United Kingdom.

“There hasn’t been a major campaign for HIV & AIDS in the UK since the negative tombstone adverts of the 1980s,” said Daisy Harman a spokesperson for Body and Soul.  “We wanted to do something more positive to tackle stigma and show that HIV isn’t all doom and gloom.”

The Big Smile will feature theatre performances from four West End shows, as well as live sets from a variety of DJs and stand-up comedians.  Surrounding the main stage, there will be a collection of booths offering complementary therapies, massage and a chance to try out the latest Playstation games.  The National Gallery will also be running half-term art activities for children throughout the day.  The Trafalgar Square events will run from 12 to 3pm, followed by a variety of VIP events at the Trafalgar Hotel and a party at the London nightclub, Pacha.

Body and Soul offers holistic support services to 2,000 families, 700 children and 400 teenagers living with or affected by HIV.  Proceeds from the event will go towards the refurbishment of the charity’s new centre for children and young people, with further funds being raised through a texting campaign that asks people to text ‘smile’ to 81156 to show their support.


 (Body & Soul press release, 31/05/06)

 

AIDS a bigger threat to mankind than terrorism, says Beckett

24th May 2006
 

The UK MP Margaret Beckett has used her first public speech as Foreign Secretary to highlight the threat of HIV and AIDS.

Beckett, who was speaking at a fund-raising event for the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, said that AIDS was a bigger threat to man than either Iran or the terrorist group al-Queda.  However, she indicated her priorities as foreign secretary by suggesting that climate change was perhaps a greater threat in the long term.

“Apart from perhaps climate change, I can think of no other challenge that so threatens to reverse the progress our world has made in the past thirty years than the threat of AIDS,” said Beckett.  

“We are at a critical moment in the global response.  History will judge us on how we respond.”

Find out more about the UK’s response to the global HIV & AIDS epidemic on our Funding the Fight Against AIDS page.


 (Daily Record, 24/05/06)

 

Calls to make sex education compulsory

24th May 2006
 

The UK’s Sex Education Forum has launched a year-long campaign to encourage the government to make Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) a compulsory part of the National Curriculum.

Called “Beyond Biology”, the campaign asks schools to teach more than the basic ‘biology’ of sexual intercourse, and enter into the emotional and personal consequences of sexual relationships, including discussion of HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted infections, adult relationships and issues of trust and self-esteem.

Sexual health organisations and other concerned individuals have been calling for sex and relationships education (which is included as part of PSHE) to be made compulsory for many years, but this is the first time they have had the official backing of the National Children's Bureau (who run the Sex Education Forum).

In a survey commissioned by the Forum, 83 percent of parents of school-aged children said that they thought schools should teach young people about the emotional as well as the biological aspects of sex.  77 percent said that PSHE should be a compulsory part of the curriculum.

“There is a clear groundswell of support for making PSHE compulsory within schools,” said Anna Martinez, co-ordinator of the Sex education Forum. “Both young people and their parents have repeatedly told us that they want better school-based sex and relationships education, which meets their needs now and in the future.”

PSHE not only covers sex and relationships education, but a wide range of other social and health-related topics, including smoking, alcohol and drugs.

AVERT.org has more about HIV/AIDS and sex education


(SEF press release, 22/05/06)

 

Hundreds of HIV+ Africans facing deportation

19th May 2006
 

The British Home Office has caused an outcry among AIDS organisations and Human Rights groups by declaring that an HIV+ status is not a sufficient reason to allow illegal immigrants to stay in Britain.

Ministers are concerned that allowing illegal immigrants with HIV to remain in the UK will set a precedent and encourage ‘health tourism’, whereby people living with HIV come to the UK specifically to access antiretroviral medical treatment.

AIDS charities dispute the claim that health tourism is a significant problem however, and argue that sending HIV+ people back to countries in Africa that do not yet have established networks of antiretroviral drug provision is tantamount to handing them a death sentence.

“We're seeing appalling hypocrisy from the Government,” said Ruth Bundy, a solicitor for several immigrants with HIV and AIDS.  “On the one hand it is extending monetary aid to Africa to help 'make poverty history'. Simultaneously though, it is throwing out individuals who have no hope of medical treatment in their home countries and are therefore being sent home to die."

Lisa Power of the Terrence Higgins Trust (who advocate on behalf of many HIV+ illegal immigrants) suggested a simple solution would be to allow illegal immigrants to stay for five years, by which time antiretrovirals should be more widely available in Africa.

The latest decision by the Home Office follows on from a ruling made in November 2005, when a judge rejected the appeal of an HIV+ woman from Zimbabwe.  The totalitarian rule of Robert Mugabe has thrown Zimbabwe into the depths of a humanitarian crisis, with ballooning inflation rates and foreign currency shortages meaning HIV treatment is almost completely unobtainable, even to those with money.  To return her to the country therefore meant almost certain death, but the judge ruled that under UK law, she had no case.  The government's decision means many more could now suffer the same fate.

Tom McNulty, the minister for Immigration has promised to readdress the issue of HIV+ immigrants, but told a recent group of charity representatives and solicitors that giving people with HIV special priority when it came to making decisions on deportation would "seem unfair to those suffering from other serious medical conditions, both physical and mental."

Under UK law, illegal immigrants are required to pay for treatment from the NHS, although it is thought many are treated by sympathetic doctors for free.

AVERT.org has more about HIV and Immigration in the UK.


 (The Independent, 19/05/06)

 

The Independent goes RED for world health

15th May 2006
 

The British newspaper The Independent is to be edited by the rockstar Bono tomorrow, who plans to use his editorship to promote awareness of international development issues and raise money for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

Bono, the lead singer of the band U2, has a long history of campaigning on humanitarian issues, but this is the first time he has ever edited a newspaper for the cause.  Reports say he has commissioned a number of articles on Africa, AIDS and other health issues, and has even asked the US Secretary of State, Condelezza Rice, to write an article on her top-ten favourite pieces of music.

Half of all sales of the paper will go to the Global Fund through the RED corporate branding scheme that was set up by Bono and the American philanthropist Bobby Shriver earlier in the year.  The Fund is currently facing a severe funding shortage due to a fall in international donor support and a rise in the number of funding applications being granted in resource-poor countries.

Commenting on Bono’s role as editor, Simon Kelner, the regular editor of The Independent, said: "We are delighted to be involved with RED, and I am thrilled to be handing over the editor's desk for a day to Bono. His perspective on world affairs is unique… [and] I am certain that the paper he will produce for tomorrow will be, in the traditions of The Independent, challenging, entertaining and illuminating."

The Independent is the first media organisation to join the RED campaign.  At present, commercial partners include Converse, Giorgio Armani, Gap, American Express, and the mobile telephone manufacturer Motorola, who today announced that it would be launching a RED phone.  Like the other products produced by the RED partner organisations, part of the proceeds of every sale of a RED phone will go to the Global Fund.

It is also rumoured that the four major UK mobile phone networks (namely Orange, O2, Vodafone and T-Mobile) will soon be participating in the scheme, although an official announcement confirming this has not yet been made.

RED is broadly supported by most AIDS, malaria and TB organisations, although some, including AVERT, have criticised press reports that imply that buying RED products is the best way to fight AIDS in Africa.  Money given to the Global Fund (including corporate donations given through RED) is donated on an entirely 'no-strings' attached basis and can be used in any number of international projects fighting disease.  This means proceeds from the sale of a pair of RED converse trainers may equally go to fight TB in Russia or Malaria in Nicaragua as to combat AIDS in Mozambique.

There have also been concerns that people have a misconception about the proportion of the cost of a product that actually goes to the Fund.  RED's retail partners have promised to donate a 'significant' portion of the profit (rather than the entire sale price) they make on a product, but how much this is likely to be has not yet been confirmed.  Amex have said 1% of all purchases charges to the RED credit card every month will go to fighting AIDS, TB and Malaria, which works out as £1 for every £100 spent.

The current scale of the RED scheme means initial funds raised are likely to be small.  However the high profile of the scheme means there is potential for major international donors may be detered from contributing more under the false belief that their money is no longer quite as urgently needed.

RED is undoubtably an excellent way of raising awareness of the Global Fund, which has until now has kept a relatively low profile.  It is also a very useful way of engaging the commercial sector, a previously untapped source of funds.  But it should not be touted as an easy answer to AIDS in Africa, nor should it be allowed to discourage people from donating out of their own pockets to charities that directly fight HIV around the world.

AVERT.org has more about RED on our Global Fund page.


(The Independent, 15/05/06 and International Herald Tribune, 14/05/06)

 

 

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Last updated December 14, 2006