According to a recent report, cases of new HIV infections in the UK have dropped dramatically in the space of six years. Progress achieved thanks to effective screening policies and more frequent use of PrEP.
According to a Public Health England reportthe number of HIV infections among gay and bisexual men fell by 71.4% (2,800 cases in 2012 compared to 800 in 2018) in UK. The number of people infected with HIV without knowing it has also fallen sharply: 3,600 in 2018 compared to 7,000 in 2014.
British health authorities, who hope to end new cases of HIV transmission by 2030, are counting on a preventive program including the wearing of condoms, regular screenings, initiation of antiretroviral treatment as soon as possible after a positive diagnosis. screening, as well as better access to preventive treatments.
Of the 103,800 people living with HIV in the UK in 2018, 93% were diagnosed with the virus, the report says. Among them, 97% receive treatment and therefore have an undetectable viral load, that is to say they cannot transmit the virus.
Limited access to PrEP in England
For HIV, the drug prevention device is the pre-exposure prophylaxis, better known as PrEP, which is taken before and after possible exposure to HIV in order to prevent the transmission of the virus. PrEP is specifically aimed at people who are not affected by HIV, but who present a risk of contamination.
Available since 2016 in France, the effectiveness of the treatment was tested for the first time in France as part of a study carried out in July 2019 on with 3,000 people followed for nearly 3 years. The results of this research showed that the Prep would be effective in almost 100% of cases.
Wales and Scotland allow access to people deemed to be at high risk, but this treatment remains more difficult to obtain in England, where patients must wait to undergo clinical trials to benefit from it.
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