Number of new HIV cases in Lothians shows slight drop

Published on Thursday 26 November 2009 08:37

THE number of people contracting HIV in the Lothians is in decline for the first time in years.

Despite fears of an impending epidemic and a return to the infection levels of the 1980s, figures show fewer people have been infected in 2009.

Latest figures from Health Protection Scotland show that while the Lothians still has more cases than anywhere else in Scotland, so far in 2009 only 58 new cases have been diagnosed, compared with 120 last year.

The welcome news emerged on the same day that the Scottish Government announced its HIV Action Plan initiative. This will see the number of transmissions reduced, it is hoped, as well as improve treatment.

Earlier diagnosis is also key, given that experts say as many people are living with HIV but are unaware as there are HIV-positive individuals accounted for.

Public health minister Shona Robison said the scheme would see more work going into targeting at-risk groups.

"Improving access to, and the provision of, diagnostic and treatment and care services can contribute to a reduction in the transmission of HIV and a longer survival time for those living with the illness," she said.

NHS Lothian campaign HIV: The Comeback Tour, worked extensively with gay pubs and clubs to raise awareness and promote the use of condoms, but up until the latest figures there were question marks over whether or not it was making any impact.

There are currently 2,238 people living with HIV in the Lothians, accounting for more than a third of all Scotland's cases.

Around half of these individuals are thought to have contracted the virus abroad.

Men who have sex with men account for the bulk of recent transmissions, and have been the focus of most awareness campaigns so far.

The fact treatment of HIV has improved so drastically is a double-edged sword for health chiefs – victims can now live relatively healthy and lengthy lives, but that has bred complacency about the disease, meaning less care is taken to prevent its spread.

Roy Kilpatrick, chief executive of HIV Scotland, said: "This Action Plan brings together the increasingly complex need for prevention of new HIV infections with the imperative that the growing numbers of people on treatment get the very best care wherever they live."

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