In the UK, new HIV diagnoses are now more common among heterosexual men than among men who have sex with men (MSM), an HIV charity has revealed.
Half of all diagnoses in 2020 are heterosexual men (49%), compared to 45% among MSM, detailed the English organization in a statement released on February 7 as part of their national HIV testing week. The organization, named the Terrence Higgins Trust, says it’s the first in 10 years.
Due to the temporary closure of many sexual health service centers in 2020 in the UK due to COVID-19, HIV testing has decreased. Among heterosexual men, this fell by a third (33%), while for men who have sex with men, it only fell by 7%. Thus, despite a lower proportion of being tested, heterosexual men have more HIV-positive cases than MSM, making the difference all the more significant.
This drop in diagnoses among non-heterosexual men would be attributable to the increasing availability of the preventive pill (PrEP), but also to the targeted promotion of screening among this group of individuals. Not only do they tend to get tested more, but they do so more quickly than heterosexual men. By doing so, they decrease the risk of transmission, being aware of their situation. They can then take drugs so that the HIV becomes undetectable in their body, and therefore untransmissible.
The press release also reveals that many heterosexuals are unaware of being carriers of HIV. Thus, these are often diagnosed late. The organization indicates that 51% of women and 55% of heterosexual men declared HIV-positive in 2020 were at a late stage. On the side of MSM, only 29% were declared HIV positive at a late stage, can we read in the press release.
As for people living with HIV, there are more MSM in the English population. In contrast, new HIV diagnoses among this group have been declining every year since 2014, totaling a 70% drop between 2014 and 2020. White Londoners are experiencing the greatest decrease in diagnoses.
On this side of the ocean
In Quebec, where HIV transmission has long been and remains a blood donation issue, the statistics are not as optimistic. MSM represented 52.5% of new diagnoses in 2019, according to the Portrait of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs) in Quebec for that year (2020 data not yet available).
Diagnoses are, however, on the decline among MSM over the past decade, while they are on the rise for heterosexual men. “Between the two five-year periods (2010-2014 and 2015-2019), the annual average of new diagnoses decreases by 15% among MSM. It varies slightly upwards among heterosexual people (+9%),” reads the report issued by the Quebec government.
These pre-pandemic statistics, however, lead to a similar conclusion to those established in the United Kingdom. Diagnoses are decreasing among MSM, while they are increasing among heterosexual men. However, it is impossible to know with what proportions of these two groups of individuals are tested in Quebec.