North HIV cases 'could double' shock

The number of people in the North diagnosed annually with HIV could double this year, shock figures revealed today.

As many people were diagnosed in the first six months of the year as in the whole of 2006.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride said be was very concerned by a “worrying surge” in the number of new cases.

Speaking on World Aids Day, Dr McBride said: “It is vital that people look after their sexual health.”

His warning was issued as the Communicable Diseases Surveillance Centre for Northern Ireland (CDSCNI) issued its annual report on the surveillance of HIV and other sexually transmitted

diseases.

It showed that during 2007 there were 65 new diagnoses of HIV, an increase of 16% on the 56 cases in 2006.

Worryingly, provisional figures for the first six months of this year showed the prospect of an even bigger increase this year – with 54 new cases diagnosed by the end of June.

If this trend is maintained, the North will have witnessed a potential near doubling of cases by the year end, it warned.

The number of people diagnosed each year has shown a continuous increase over the past 10 years.

Dr Neil Irvine, consultant epidemiologist with CDSCNI, said the latest report again confirmed the upward trend. He said it showed no sign of abating despite consistent messages about the need for safe sex.