Public Health England (PHE, England's answer to the CDC) recently published an article stating that new HIV diagnoses have fallen for the second year in a row, by 17% in 2017; on parr with that of the new HIV diagnoses back in 2000- surely a great leap forward.
The decline has been reportedly driven by gay and bisexual men due to the relatively-new culture of STI testing available for free on the NHS in the UK, as well as an increased uptake in anti-retrovirals.
Another group contributing significantly to the decrease in new cases is the black African and Caribbean community, for whom new cases among heterosexuals has been steadily decreasing over the last 10 years.
Steve Brine, public health minister said that we're "well on our way to eradicating it (HIV) once and for all, but we have not an ounce of complacency." An important stance to take on diseases as life-changing as HIV/AIDS.
This article raises two questions for me, as a young brit;
-at what stage does the cost of screening outweigh the benefit and are we anywhere near that point?
-should countries like the US be looking towards other countries as case studies for a) mass-screening and treatment, and ultimately, as case studies for NHS-like services, given increased coverage and efficacy?
PHE is working to "control" HIV by 2030, and any sign of decreasing new diagnoses is a step in the right direction. (Although the word "control" is vague and problematic to me personally.)
-Jack Whitehead
The decline has been reportedly driven by gay and bisexual men due to the relatively-new culture of STI testing available for free on the NHS in the UK, as well as an increased uptake in anti-retrovirals.
Another group contributing significantly to the decrease in new cases is the black African and Caribbean community, for whom new cases among heterosexuals has been steadily decreasing over the last 10 years.
Steve Brine, public health minister said that we're "well on our way to eradicating it (HIV) once and for all, but we have not an ounce of complacency." An important stance to take on diseases as life-changing as HIV/AIDS.
This article raises two questions for me, as a young brit;
-at what stage does the cost of screening outweigh the benefit and are we anywhere near that point?
-should countries like the US be looking towards other countries as case studies for a) mass-screening and treatment, and ultimately, as case studies for NHS-like services, given increased coverage and efficacy?
PHE is working to "control" HIV by 2030, and any sign of decreasing new diagnoses is a step in the right direction. (Although the word "control" is vague and problematic to me personally.)
-Jack Whitehead
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