Gay men and men who have sex with men

Historically, HIV has hit the gay community hardest in the UK. For the first 17 years of the epidemic, the highest number of new diagnoses of HIV were among gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM). That changed in 1999 when the number of heterosexually acquired diagnoses overtook those among MSM.

Nevertheless, in terms of transmission of the virus within the UK, MSM are still the group at highest risk of getting a new infection.There's been a steady rise in the number of HIV diagnoses amongst MSM since 2000.

Statistics

The number of cases of HIV diagnosed amongst gay men has been increasing since 1999. HIV is now the fourth most commonly diagnosed major sexually transmitted infection among MSM in the UK. It was estimated at the end of 2006 that 31,100 men who have sex with men were living with HIV.

MSM account for:

• 45% of all HIV cases and 57% of all AIDS cases reported in the UK
• 32% of all new HIV diagnoses in 2006 were amongst MSM
• 63% of newly UK-acquired infections
• 43% of adults living with HIV in the UK

Among the MSM group, those aged 25 to 39 are the most likely to be diagnosed with HIV. And the number of MSM seen for care has increased 14,530 in 2002 to 21,700 in 2006, an increase of 49%. Between 1996 and 2006 there has been a 157% increase in MSM seen for care, including a 9% increase between 2005 and 2006.

In 2006, men from the Caribbean and Central and South America had the highest levels of undiagnosed HIV amongst MSM.