{"id":4757,"date":"2019-03-29T06:24:53","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T06:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/?p=4757"},"modified":"2021-05-24T11:36:28","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T11:36:28","slug":"hiv-statistics-for-the-uk-and-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/hiv-statistics-for-the-uk-and-london\/","title":{"rendered":"HIV Statistics for the UK and London"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

News of a man\nbeing <\/strong>\u2018<\/strong>cured<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong> of HIV<\/strong><\/a> in the UK is circulating. The London patient, who\nwas being treated for cancer, now has undetectable HIV viral loads and is no\nlonger taking HIV medication following his stem cell transplant. Despite this,\nresearchers say it is too early to say that the patient has been <\/strong>\u2018<\/strong>cured<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>. Though this\ncase may bring hope for a cure to those living with HIV, it is still only the <\/strong>second case<\/strong><\/a> of its kind. The therapy is also not suitable as\nstandard HIV treatment due to the toxicity of chemotherapy, which was initially\nused to target the patient<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>s cancer <\/strong>\u2013<\/strong> not his HIV infection. This recent case raises\nquestions as to how well the country is doing in terms of treatment and overall\nHIV statistics in the UK.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The UK has taken an active role in addressing the HIV epidemic since\nit first began \u2013 investing in research and technology\nto help prevent new HIV infections and stop AIDS-related deaths. In recent\ndecades, significant progress has been made in antiretroviral treatment\ncoverage; the UK was also one of the first countries to surpass UNAIDS\u2019 90-90-90\ntargets<\/a>. In 2017, London exceeded UNAIDS\u2019 hopeful 95-95-95 target with figures\nof 95-98-97. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Despite this, London continues to have the highest rates of HIV in the\ncountry \u2013 with the\ninfection affecting Londoners more than any other part of the UK. Late-stage\nHIV diagnoses are still yet to be tackled in the UK; evidence has also suggested\nthat there is a consistent decline in HIV awareness and knowledge throughout\nthe country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we\u2019re setting a new goal: eradicating HIV transmission in England by 2030. No new infections within the next decade. Becoming one of the first countries to reach the UN zero-infections target by 2030.<\/p>Matthew Hancock, Health and Social Care Secretary<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

HIV testing<\/a> plays an\nimportant role in ending the HIV epidemic. By knowing your\nstatus<\/a>, and receiving treatment, you can prevent further health problems \u2013 such\nas AIDS \u2013 from developing. It also decreases the chances of passing on the\nvirus to your sexual partners whilst you are unaware of your infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early detection is vital to protecting your sexual health as this\nenables you to start treatment earlier. Current forms of HIV treatment are\neffective and, if taken consistently and correctly, can help you reach a stage\nwhere your viral load is \u2018undetectable\u2019. This means that the levels of the\nvirus can no longer be measured in your blood stream. If you are at this stage\nfor 6 months or more, you are unable to pass on HIV through sex. However, you\nare still advised to use a condom during any sexual activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big breakthrough came in the mid 1990\u2019s with the advent of HAART, (Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy). This new cocktail of drugs at last delivered on the hopes of millions following the bitter disappointment suffered when AZT (azidothymidine) on its own was found not to be as effective in prolonging the life of those infected with HIV. Today, accessing the best medicines to treat HIV is easy. Following a positive test for HIV you will be referred to a specialist who will check the status of your immune system and prescribe the right combination of drugs. If you take them as prescribes, the amount of virus in your blood should quickly fall below detectable levels.<\/p>Mike Asher<\/a>, Co-Founder of Better2Know<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

[1] Avert: HIV and AIDS in the United Kingdom (UK)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] BBC: UK patient\n‘free’ of HIV after stem cell treatment<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3] GOV: Health\nSecretary announces goal to end HIV transmissions by 2030<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4] Healthy London: London the\nfirst global city to exceed UNAIDS 95-95-95 ambitions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5] National AIDS Trust: HIV in the UK\nstatistics – 2017<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6] Public Health England: Progress\ntowards ending the HIV epidemic in the United Kingdom 2018 report<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7] Terrence Higgins Trust: HIV\nstatistics<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

News of a man being \u2018cured\u2019 of HIV in the UK is circulating. The London patient, who was being treated for cancer, now has undetectable HIV viral loads and is no longer taking HIV medication following his stem cell transplant. Despite this, researchers say it is too early to say that the patient has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":""},"categories":[1438,8,20,19],"tags":[557,556,555],"yst_prominent_words":[606,609,596,593,611,603,568,595,594,599,608,604,605,610,598,607,602,601,597,600],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4757"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4757"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6620,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4757\/revisions\/6620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4757"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.better2know.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=4757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}