Rise in people accessing HIV care

There has been a slowdown in the number of new cases

The number of people in the north west of England accessing HIV treatment is continuing to rise, new figures reveal.

The total number of HIV positive people being treated reached its highest level last year at 5,212 - a 9% rise on 2006 statistics.

Liverpool John Moore University-based Centre for Public Health and the Health Protection Agency collated the figures.

Despite the rise, the statistics also revealed a 10% slowdown in the number of new cases reported in the region.

There were 817 new HIV cases reported in 2007, compared with 907 the year before.

There was also a drop in the number of new cases infected through sex between men, injecting drug users and heterosexual intercourse.

However, heterosexual sex was still the most frequent route of infection for new cases in 2007 with 401 people - 41% - infected this way.

A total of 345 men who had gay sex accounted for 42% of all new cases.

The studies also revealed that 41% of new cases were the result of people being infected while abroad, with 71% of these cases being black African.