HIV case numbers are rising

The Health Protection Agency says new cases are growing among both homosexual men and heterosexuals.

It says that increases in unsafe sex are the "driving force" behind the steep increase.

However, four out of five of the new cases were caught abroad, and later diagnosed in the UK.

Strong messages about safe sex were responsible for a decline the the rate of new infections during the 1990s.

However, complacency over this - and reliance on the increasing effectiveness of anti-HIV medication - has been blamed for a reversal of that trend in recent years.

Highest levels

New diagnoses among gay men are now at the highest level since tests became widely available in the 1980s.

These are worrying data and worrying trends Sir William Stewart, Health Protection Agency

So far, 5,047 diagnoses from 2003 have been reported, compared with 4,204 for 2002.

It is estimated that almost 50,000 people are currently living with HIV in the UK - many unaware of their condition.

The majority of new cases were in heterosexuals - with a 27% increase year on year.

The number of people actually infected in the UK is relatively small compared with this total, but also rising.

Sex diseases

Dr Barry Evans, an HIV expert from the HPA, said: "We believe that some of this increase is related to the rise in other sexually-transmitted infections, which can aid the transmission of HIV.

"It could also be partly due to people coming forward for HIV testing who may have been infected for some time.

"Increases in unsafe sex are undoubtedly the main driving force behind this epidemic.

The messages of the 1980s are as relevant today as they were then Deborah Jack, National Aids Trust

"People must be encouraged to take responsibility for their own sexual health."

The HPA's chairman, Sir William Stewart, said: "These are worrying data and worrying trends.

"They emphasise a problem, which is not going to readily go away, and one that places a huge additional burden on the NHS."

Strong message

Aids charities urged people to take notice of the safe sex message.

National Aids Trust Chief Executive Deborah Jack said: "These alarming statistics show that there is a clear need for everyone to take HIV seriously. HIV and AIDS is not a problem that only affects other countries.

"The messages of the 1980s are as relevant today as they were then."

Nick Partridge the chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said government action was required.

He said: "Modernising sexual health services to make it easier for people to test for HIV and other STIs would be a major step forward in helping to tackle this crisis.

"We must also make a concerted and focused effort to educate young people about the risks of unprotected sex."

The report comes only days after a leading consultant in sexual health said that young people simply could not afford condoms - and were using clingfilm and crisp packets as an alternative.

Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Education, Tim Yeo, said the figures were "truly shocking".

He said: "The government�s record on sexual health has been dismal.

"Their failure to act properly means that we now face a burgeoning epidemic, that sexual health services are under increasing pressure and that there are dangerously long waits to see an expert."

A Department of Health spokesman said: "In the absence of a cure for Aids or vaccine against HIV, health promotion remains crucial to our efforts to reduce the spread of HIV.

"The Government has made a long-term commitment through its National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV to improve sexual health and modernise services.

"HIV prevention and health promotion is a key element of this strategy.