Focus on
United Kingdom
OVERVIEW
Nouvelles infections au VIH
En 2018, près de 4 500 nouveaux cas de séropositivité (73 % d’hommes, 27 % de femmes) ont été diagnostiqués au Royaume-Uni, soit une baisse de 28 % par rapport à 2015 et de 6 % comparé à 2017.
Dans son rapport, Public Health England indique que ce déclin est lié à l’évolution des nouvelles contaminations chez les hommes homosexuels et autres hommes ayant des rapports sexuels avec des hommes. Celles-ci ont baissé de 39 % depuis le pic de 2015 pour atteindre 1 900 nouvelles infections en 2018. Au cours de la même période, le nombre de nouvelles contaminations diagnostiquées a également baissé de 24 % chez les personnes infectées consécutivement à un rapport hétérosexuel. Elles sont passées de 2 300 environ en 2015 à 1 550 en 2018.
Dans son rapport, Public Health England indique que le renforcement de la prévention combinée a joué un rôle essentiel dans le recul de l’incidence du VIH chez les hommes homosexuels et autres hommes ayant des rapports sexuels avec des hommes depuis 2012. Les dix dernières années ont vu la prévention combinée évoluer : dépistage très régulier du VIH conseillé aux personnes ayant des rapports sexuels non protégés avec de nouveaux partenaires ou des partenaires occasionnels, thérapie antirétrovirale débutée plus tôt et immédiatement après le diagnostic, démocratisation de la prophylaxie pré-exposition disponible depuis fin 2015.
90–90–90
Les estimations pour 2017 fournies par Public Health England révèlent que le Royaume-Uni a atteint les objectifs 90–90–90.
Sur les 100 000 personnes vivant avec le VIH dans le pays en 2017 (estimation) :
- 92 % connaissent leur statut sérologique.
- 98 % des personnes connaissant leur statut sérologique suivent une thérapie antirétrovirale.
- 97 % des personnes vivant avec le VIH et suivant un traitement ont une charge virale supprimée.
Selon les estimations, 87 % des personnes vivant avec le VIH au Royaume-Uni en 2017 ont une charge virale indétectable. Elles restent ainsi en bonne santé et ne peuvent pas transmettre le virus.
Vivre avec le VIH
En 2018 au Royaume-Uni, un peu plus de 96 000 personnes ont consulté pour des soins liés au VIH. Plus de la moitié (52 000 environ) sont d’origine caucasienne et plus d’un quart (28 000 environ) sont originaires d’Afrique noire.
On assiste à un vieillissement de la population des personnes vivant avec le VIH : en 2018, 40 % environ des personnes recevant des soins liés au virus au Royaume-Uni avait 50 ans ou plus.
Mortalité
En 2018, au Royaume-Uni, 470 personnes environ sont mortes des suites de la maladie. Depuis 2009, on assiste à une baisse de 20 % du nombre de décès parmi les personnes vivant avec le VIH au Royaume-Uni.
Progress towards ending the HIV epidemic in the United Kingdom: 2018 report. Public Health England.
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How London’s first dedicated HIV ward changed the AIDS response
Opened in 1987 by Princess Diana, the Broderip Ward at the Middlesex Hospital in London was the United Kingdom’s first ward dedicated to caring for HIV patients. UNAIDS Senior Adviser on Science, Peter Godfrey-Faussett, worked on the Broderip Ward as a newly qualified doctor and remembers it as an intense and highly emotional period.
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Unwavering care for people who inject drugs on the streets of Glasgow
In Scotland, United Kingdom, the widespread availability of HIV prevention and harm reduction programmes and the expansion of antiretroviral treatment have been effective in controlling the spread of HIV since the 1980s. However, in 2015 there was a worrying outbreak of HIV among people who inject drugs in Glasgow, with the number of new HIV diagnoses tripling in just three years.
UNAIDS spoke to Ruth McKenna from Waverley Care, Scotland’s leading charity providing HIV, hepatitis C and sexual health care and support to people across Scotland, who explained some of the work that the charity has being doing to respond to the outbreak.
“Glasgow has a good needle–syringe exchange programme, so initially there was uncertainty as to why the increase was happening,” said Ms McKenna.
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Interview with UNAIDS PrEP expert Rosalind Coleman
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is delivered by a pill made of a combination of medicines. It has proved to be highly effective in preventing HIV-negative people from acquiring the virus. It is being rolled out or piloted in many countries across the world, including the United Kingdom. UNAIDS PrEP expert Rosalind Coleman explains.
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Five years on: 300 Fast-Track cities come together
More than 700 delegates from cities around the world have gathered in London, United Kingdom, for the first Fast-Track cities conference. The meeting, hosted by the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) in partnership with UNAIDS and the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), is focusing on the efforts and progress that cities have made as well as the challenges and lessons learned over the past five years.
On World AIDS Day 2014, the Fast-Track cities initiative was launched in Paris, France, with 26 cities signing up to the initiative. It has now expanded to more than 300 cities and municipalities.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, confirmed his commitment to the HIV Fast-Track response in his city, which accounts for 38% of all people living with HIV in the United Kingdom.
“I am proud of what we have achieved, but we need to go further,” Mr Khan said. “I wholeheartedly support the United Kingdom’s bold ambition to get to zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero discrimination.”
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Mr Gay England brings visibility to HIV stigma
When Phillip Dzwonkiewicz won the Mr Gay England 2018 contest, he wanted to use his platform to talk about HIV. After years of struggling with his HIV-positive status, he no longer wanted to hide.
“I now live one life,” he said. “I live openly and it’s a massive weight off my shoulders.”
The next year, when competing in Mr Gay Europe 2018―he was runner up―he again used the platform to bring more visibility to HIV. “What still surprises me is how people tell me, “You don’t look like you have HIV”. It shows how misconceptions still exist,” he said.
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Stigma makes HIV life-threatening
“If I am meant to be a leader, I needed to be truthful,” said Lloyd Russell-Moyle, British Member of Parliament, reflecting on his bold move to reveal his HIV-positive status in the House of Commons in late November 2018, days before World AIDS Day.
He explained that for years he would honour people for their outstanding work in the HIV field and yet he never opened up and was honest with people about living with HIV.
“The more people don’t talk about it, the harder it is for everyone. As a Member of Parliament my job involves speaking out, being an advocate and helping people in their journey,” Mr Russell-Moyle said.
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