People with HIV must receive earlier diagnoses
25 Jun 2014 02:34 PM
Ensuring that people
with HIV receive earlier diagnoses will reduce transmission and prevent
thousands of further cases, according to NICE.
HIV is a virus most often
transmitted through unprotected sex, leaving people less able to fight
infections. In 2012, an estimated 98,400 people in the UK were living with HIV.
Yet up to 21,900 people with HIV were unaware that they were
infected.
Testing for the virus is key in
preventing its transmission. This is because more than half of new cases are
estimated to be due to people who are undiagnosed having unprotected sex.
People who do not know their HIV status are believed to be 3 times more likely
to pass on the infection those who know their status. They are also twice as
likely to have unprotected sex.
Local authorities are
responsible for HIV testing in community and sexual health services, and to
help them with this role, NICE has produced a local government public health
briefing on the topic.
NICE says that promoting HIV
testing can help people live longer and healthier lives through early access to
anti-retroviral medication, save money through reduced admissions and for
caring for someone in the community, and reduce transmission rates by improving
rates of diagnosis.
The briefing links to a range of
recommendations, including assessing the local need for HIV testing for black Africans and men who
have sex with men. This is because HIV is most prevalent among these sectors of
the community in the UK.
Further recommendations
include planning referral pathways for those
delivering HIV tests, providing HIV testing in primary and secondary care, and providing outreach HIV testing services for
men who have sex with men.
Professor Mike Kelly, Director
of the Centre for Public Health at NICE said: "Too many people with HIV in
the UK do not know they have the virus. It is a serious health problem - but
one that benefits from early treatment.
"It's estimated that
just under 100,000 people were living with HIV in the UK in 2012. But 1 in 5 of
them did not know they were carrying the virus. If those people are identified
and treated, then a further 3,500 case of HIV transmission could be prevented
within 5 years.
He added: "Early diagnosis
of HIV can mean that people are able to live full and normal lives if they take
anti-retroviral medication. And once people are being treated they are much
less infectious. In addition, £18 million each year spent on treatment
costs could be saved within the first 5 years.
"Increased HIV testing and
earlier diagnosis will also reduce hospital admissions and lower the costs of
caring for someone in the community with HIV."
Dr Anthony Nardone, Public
Health England, added: £In the UK, a fifth of people living with HIV are
unaware of their infection. We also know that around half of people newly
diagnosed with HIV are identified late.
"Encouraging earlier and
more frequent HIV testing, especially by those most at-risk, and reducing late
diagnoses will help reduce new HIV infections in the UK. We urge all those
involved with commissioning and delivering HIV testing services to read this
NICE briefing document today, and to use it to inform local action planning
looking forward."