Latest figures from Public Health England show that there has been a rise of 21 per cent in HIV infections among gay men in London.
HIV increase
Sexual health workers are attributing the increase to high-risk drug use and homosexual sex. Charities warn that the virus has resurged as one of the most serious public health crises currently in the UK.
The Lancet medical journal reports that rates of HIV infection have also increased by 8 per cent across the UK to 3,240 new infections among men who have sex with men.
London alone saw 1,720 new infections in 2012.
Causes
The surge of HIV infections is likely fuelled by both irresponsible use of needles while drug taking and an increase in unprotected sex.
Some of this year’s rise is also the result of more widespread HIV testing, as the number of tests in London grew by 17 per cent since 2011.
But Public Health England stated that there is “evidence from drug and alcohol clinics in London that recreational drug use amongst gay men is a growing issue.”
Growing numbers
The Lancet has also reported a growing number of homosexual men having sex without condoms.
There are anecdotal reports of men borrowing “HIV medication from their HIV-positive friends so they can have sex without condoms at sex parties with HIV-positive men present, in the hope that they themselves will not get infected (a strategy that has not been proven effective).”
Director of policy and campaigns at the National Aids Trust (NAT) called this “one of the most serious public health issues we face in the UK and it must be treated as a public health priority.”
Sources