Between 2012 and 2018, the number of gay and bisexual men infected with HIV fell by 71% in the UK, according to figures from Public Health England, a government-owned administrative body, reports this Thursday the BBC. This figure increased from 2,800 in 2012 to 800 in 2018.
This decrease is due to the increasing use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). This preventive strategy, which has been available for almost four years in France, is aimed at people who do not have HIV. It involves taking a drug, Truvada or a generic, to avoid getting contaminated.
End the HIV epidemic in 2030
Of the approximately 103,800 people living with HIV in the UK, 93% have been diagnosed. 97% of them receive treatment. And of these, 97% have an undetectable viral load, and therefore cannot transmit the virus.
“I am confident that we are going to end the HIV epidemic. HIV has brought untold suffering to many people, so it is encouraging to see that the number of people who contract it continues to decline”, s is congratulated the English Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock.
He said the UK is “on the right track” to end the HIV epidemic by 2030.
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