Record drop in new HIV diagnoses

An 80 per cent fall in new diagnoses of HIV has been reported by Europe’s biggest sexual health clinic, 56 Dean Street.

The figures show a dramatic drop from a peak in June 2015.

The Soho clinic operated by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust sees more than 12,000 sexual health attendances per month, and accounts for one in nine of every new HIV diagnosis in the UK and one in two of gay men in London.

The decrease has been helped by the launch of the clinic’s ‘Plan ZERO’. Its aim is to end all new cases of HIV in London’s gay men by motivating them to use the latest tools that have been proven to stop transmission.

People with HIV who are on effective treatment cannot pass the infection to others, so the clinic concentrates on diagnosing people very early and then offering them treatment to bring their virus to undetectable levels.

The service diagnoses more people who have caught HIV in the last four months than any other clinic in the UK.

One of the latest HIV medicines being trialled at 56 Dean Street is pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). If taken correctly, it protects people from catching HIV and can help drastically reduce the number of people becoming infected.

Alan McOwan, lead clinician at the clinic, said: “The dramatic falls in new diagnoses show that if we attack HIV from all angles we could end transmission completely.”

Nneka Nwokolo, consultant at the clinic, said: “The reduction in new diagnoses has been predominantly in gay men and it is crucial that other groups at risk including women, those from ethnic minorities and transgender groups are made aware of PrEP and other prevention measures.”