- New infections of HIV, which causes Aids, have risen
in Britain by 20 per cent since 2001, bringing the number of people with
the virus to nearly 50,000, health experts said yesterday.
-
- High-risk sex among homosexual and bisexual men, and
an increase in sexually transmitted infections, (STIs), have contributed
to the increase, according to the Health Protection Agency, which monitors
infectious diseases.
-
- Homosexual and bisexual men accounted for about 80 per
cent (1,500) of HIV diagnoses in 2002.
-
- Cases of gonorrhoea among homosexual men have risen from
1,842 in 1999 to 3,363 in 2002. Syphilis infections rose from 52 to 607.
Both infections facilitate the spread of HIV.
-
- The number of heterosexual infections of HIV/Aids has
risen from 147 in 1998 to 275 in 2002 and was also linked with STIs.
-
- A spokesman for the British Medical Association said:
"The country now faces a very serious public health threat from STIs."
-
- An extra £15 million is being made available to
clinics for sexually transmitted diseases, the Government announced yesterday.
-
- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2003.
-
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/11
- /25/nhiv25.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/11/25/ixhome.html
|
