HIV infection rates drop by a third in England, new study finds
The rate of new HIV infections among gay men have dropped by a third in England, a new study has found.
The results, shared by Public Health England, comes from preliminary figures from sexual health clinics all across England in 2016.
Speaking to the New Scientist, Valerie Delpech from Public Health England, said: “Provisional date suggests that HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men in England has fallen.”
Delpech however states that it’s not possible to confirm it at a national level until “all data for 2016 has been received.”
The New Scientist reports that the use of PrEP, which can prevent a person from contracting HIV when taken regularly, has grown in recent years and could be part of the drop in new infection rates.
However, PrEP is not yet available on the NHS and people have begun importing the drug from abroad despite warnings that doing so can be dangerous.
A spokesperson for the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said: “Medicines purchased this way could have the wrong active ingredient, no active ingredient or an incorrect dosage.”
Despite the warning, people have been paying up to £400 a month to get PrEP online.
H/t: New Now Next
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