HIV infections among gay and bisexual men fall 71 per cent in four years

HIV infections among gay and bisexual men in the UK have fallen by nearly three quarters in four years, official figures show.

Cases of the viral disease being transmitted have plummeted 71.4 per cent since 2014, Public Health England found.

The pioneering drug PrEP has been credited for the decrease.

It has thrown fuel on the ongoing campaign for the preventative medication to be made freely available on the NHS.

The figures show that 93 per cent of the estimated 103,800 people living with HIV in the UK in 2018 have been diagnosed, and 97 per cent are receiving treatment meaning their viral load is undetectable.

Transmissions of HIV among gay and bisexual men hit 2,300 in 2014, but in 2018 fell to 800, amid vast improvements in testing.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said Britain was on course for zero HIV transmission by the end of this decade.

"I feel very strongly that we must end HIV transmission," he said.

"HIV has brought untold hurt and suffering to so many, so it is encouraging to see transmissions continue to fall across the UK."

Phil Samba, from campaign group Prepster, welcomed the decrease but urged the government to “get a grip” on PrEP, which is currently only freely available in Scotland and Wales.

"The figures show the impact that Prep, combined with increases in HIV testing and rapid access to HIV treatments can have,” he said.

"Today, we make a clear call to Matt Hancock and his colleagues, 'Get a grip and fund a full Prep service now.'"

The drug, taken each day or more frequently before sex, allows gay and bisexual men to have unprotected sex with almost 100 per cent chance of not contracting HIV.

In England it is only currently available through an experimental trial set up in 2015, which was vastly over-subscribed. Those who want it have to buy it themselves online.

The Terrence Higgins Trust's Debbie Laycock said there was further to go. "The fact we are still seeing 43% of all new HIV diagnoses at a late stage, in particular among heterosexual men and the over-50s, is evidence of the urgent need to engage these groups around HIV and regular testing."