HIV & AIDS

HIV/AIDS

What is HIV?

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

HIV infects and gradually destroys an infected person's immune system, reducing their protection against infection and cancers.

Initially, someone living with HIV may show no symptoms of HIV infection as their immune system manages to control it. However, in most cases their immune system will need help from anti-HIV drugs to keep the HIV infection under control. These drugs do not completely rid the body of HIV infection.

What is AIDS?

AIDS is short for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

AIDS is not a single disease or condition. Instead, it is a term that describes the point when a person’s immune system can no longer cope because of the damage caused by HIV and they start to get one or more specific illnesses.

People do not actually die from AIDS; they die from the cancers, pneumonia or other conditions that may take hold when their immune system has been weakened by HIV.

The term AIDS is now very rarely used. It is more usual to talk of late-stage or advanced HIV infection.

Who, where and how are people infected?

Geography

Around half (52%) of all people living with HIV in the UK live in London, as do almost half (47%) of the people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2003. This proportion used to be much higher, but people with HIV are now spread across all areas of the UK and particularly in major towns and South-East England.

UK HIV statistics

HIV is the fastest growing serious health condition in the UK. These are some of the statistics:

• Around 63,000 cases of HIV reported since the early 1980s
• 3,802 AIDS-related deaths since the early 1980s
• 6,675 new diagnoses in 2003
• 4,706 new diagnoses reported so far for 2004, but this is expected to be around 7000 when all of the data is compiled
• men living with HIV outnumber women who have HIV by 2:1
• 47% of all new cases of HIV in 2003 were in London
• 52% of people living with HIV in 2003 live in London

Heterosexuals

The number of people newly diagnosed with HIV in the UK who contracted the virus through heterosexual sex, either in the UK or abroad, is increasing. In 1999 heterosexual contact overtook homosexual activity as the most common route of transmission among new HIV cases overall.

In 2003, heterosexual transmission accounted for 58% of those diagnosed in the UK. However, the overall risk of acquiring HIV through heterosexual sex in the UK remains relatively low. The majority of people diagnosed in the UK with HIV transmitted through heterosexual sex were actually exposed to the virus overseas, most commonly in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa where it is very prevalent.

Statistics

In 2003, there were 26,000 people living in the UK who had contracted HIV through heterosexual sex.

Those infected with HIV through heterosexual sex account for:

• 40% of all HIV cases overall in the UK
• the highest proportion of newly diagnosed HIV cases in each year since 1999
• 58% of new HIV cases in 2003, up from 31% in 1994
• 45% of the total cases presenting for care, which is more than any other group (MSM now account for 44%).

In the heterosexual HIV group:

• 22% of those who are undiagnosed are women and 39% men
• many women are diagnosed through routine ante-natal testing
• heterosexual men are the people most likely to go untested
• women aged 25 to 34 and men aged 30 to 39 are the groups most likely to be diagnosed.

The number of people newly diagnosed with HIV from heterosexual sex in the UK rose from 158 in 1999 to 341 in 2003. Many of these were probably infected by partners exposed to the virus abroad.

Use these Frequently Asked Questions links to answer your questions:

·       How quickly do people infected with HIV develop AIDS?

·       How many people are affected by HIV/AIDS?

·       How is HIV transmitted?

·       How is HIV not transmitted?

·       How can I reduce my risk of becoming infected with HIV through sexual contact?

·  How can I avoid acquiring HIV from a contaminated needle?

·       Is there a link between HIV and other STIs?

·   What protection is there for sexual transmission of HIV and other STIs?

·  Are some people at greater risk of HIV infection than others?

·       Who is most affected?

·       Are women especially vulnerable to HIV?

·       Are there treatments for HIV/AIDS?

·  Is there a cure for AIDS?

·       Is there a vaccine to prevent HIV infection?

·       Can you tell whether someone else has HIV or AIDS?

·       How do I know if I'm infected?

·       Should I get tested?

 

Further information is available on the following links:

HIV & AIDS in the U.K.

Terence Higgins Trust

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