HIV Rates Among Gay and Bi Men in the United Kingdom Fell by 71% Thanks to PrEP

New transmission rates have fallen by 71%  among men who have sex with men (SMS) in the United Kingdom.

It has been attributed to a rise in the use and availability of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). British HIV activists are urging the government to make PrEP, which is almost 100% effective at preventing transmission, more widely available.

The BBC reports: “The number of people diagnosed with HIV in the UK has dropped substantially since 2012, according to figures released by Public Health England. Gay and bisexual men have experienced the most dramatic decline in new infections, with rates falling by 71%*. It has been attributed to a rise in the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Campaigners are urging the government to make Prep, which is almost 100% effective at preventing transmission, more widely available.”

Virally suppressed Of the estimated 103,800 people living with HIV in the UK in 2018, 93% have been diagnosed with the virus. Of these, 97% are receiving treatment. And of these, 97% are, as a result, undetectable, meaning they cannot transmit the virus.

Among gay and bisexual men, transmissions of HIV have dropped from 2,800 in 2012 to 800 in 2018.

HIV testing has greatly increased over the past decade.

And the number of men who have sex with men living undiagnosed with HIV has halved between 2014 and 2018, to 3,600.