There has been a four per cent increase in the numbers of people accessing treatment for HIV in the North West according to a new report.
HIV and AIDS in the North West of England 2013 published by Centre for Public Health at Liverpool’s John Moore’s University found that 7,625 HIV positive individuals accessed treatment and care from statutory treatment centres in the north west of England, more than any time since regional monitoring began 18 years ago.
While three local authorities in the region including Manchester and Salford have an adult prevalence of over 2 cases per 1,000 population, the threshold at which the British HIV Association recommend routine testing for all medical admissions and new GP registrants.
However neither Salford nor Manchester offer routine HIV testing, although the Manchester Royal Infirmary trialled the practice in 2011, it has since stopped.
The eighteenth annual report found that there were 769 new cases reported in 2013, representing a modest 0.4% decrease from 2012 and continuing the fluctuating trend seen in recent years.
Greater Manchester had the highest number of HIV cases (4,482) and the greatest number of new cases (468) and the region had the highest number of HIV positive individuals infected through injecting drug use which accounts for 68% of all residents of the north west of England infected by this route.
The global HIV situation continues to influence the north west of England with a third of all HIV cases exposed abroad and the majority of these cases contracted in sub- Saharan Africa.
