Over 20,000 adults are now living with an HIV diagnosis in this country and with a new diagnosis being made on average every three hours in the year 2000 that number is growing

Dr Barry Evans

Dr Barry Evans, Head of the PHLS' Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre said cases were up 7% on 1999.

For the second year in a row the HIV levels in the heterosexual community have exceeded those among homosexuals.

There were 1,315 heterosexual cases last year, with the majority of people becoming affected while visiting areas such as sub-Saharan Africa.

But Dr Evans said the figures might not be all bad news.

"Many of those being diagnosed are people who were infected some years ago, but who are only now coming forward for testing.

"This is positive, because once people are HIV diagnosed they can be offered treatment," he said.

Dr Evans said although HIV cannot be cured there was treatment available to halt the progression of the disease and this was encouraging people to come forward.

Dr Jeanette Meadway: "We are complacent"

But he said this was the second consecutive rise for HIV diagnoses and said people must "not be complacent about safer sex".

Also accusing the young of complacency was Dr Jeanette Meadway, from the Mildmay Centre for HIV Palliative Care, one of Europe's leading centres for the treatment of the virus.

She said: "People are lulled into a false sense of security by the lack of people dying from HIV and don't take precautions."

New diagnoses

"Over 20,000 adults are now living with an HIV diagnosis in this country and with a new diagnosis being made on average every three hours in the year 2000 that number is growing. The prevention messages have never been more important than they are now," he said.

HIV statistics

Gay and bisexual men are at the greatest risk Out of the 2,868 new diagnosis last year 1,315 were heterosexually obtained The majority of heterosexual infections were acquired abroad, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa

The Terrence Higgins Trust said that the increased rise showed clearly that the HIV epidemic "is not going away" and that prevention and cure research must continue.

"It's therefore vital that HIV prevention work continues to be funded and promoted if we are to slow down the rate of new infections," said a spokesman.

He added that it is good that more people are coming forward for treatment and said that the earlier they did this the better it would be for their health.

"Although people with HIV in the UK are now living longer thanks to powerful drug treatments, these are not a cure, and we still do not have a vaccine," he said.

Derek Bodell, National Aids Trust chief executive, said the government must make beating HIV/AIDS a priority.

"If we are to reverse this worrying trend we need to improve our investment in targeted HIV education campaigns and the government must make this an overarching priority in its long-awaited HIV and Sexual Health Strategy."