United Kingdom: More Contracting HIV Abroad

New data show that 42 percent of all new HIV cases in North West England are the result of transmissions that occurred outside the country. Seventy-four percent of these new patients are black Africans. The 2008 figures also showed that the number of regional residents receiving HIV treatment, 5,767, was up by 11 percent from 2007, when the figure was 5,212. In 2008, 925 new HIV cases were reported in the North West, a 13 percent increase from the 817 new cases added in 2007. Among the new cases registered last year, 48 percent resulted from heterosexual exposure and 41 percent from homosexual exposure. "It is encouraging that more people with HIV infection are seeking treatment and care, but hugely disappointing that we are seeing an increase in new cases, reversing recent trends," said Professor Qutub Syed, director of the Health Protection Agency North West, which released the data in conjunction with the Center for Public Health at Liverpool John Moore's University.

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