Director of Public Health Annual Report 2011 - NHS North Somerset

Chapter 2
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
What’s the problem?
HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune
system leaving those infected at risk of other
infections or diseases such as pneumonia or
cancer. The infected person can remain with -
out symptoms until advanced stages of HIV
infection – this stage is also known as acquired
immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS. HIV can
be passed from one person to another in a
number of ways including unprotected sex,
sharing of contaminated needles, or from a
mother to her unborn child.
In 2010, there were 104 people living in North
Somerset who were accessing treatment for
HIV, two thirds of whom were men. Since
2005, the number of people living with HIV in
North Somerset has increased by 63% (Figure
2). Despite the rise, the level of infection is
lower than the England average.
Director of Public 2Health Annual Report 2011
It is not clear how much of this increase is
due to people living longer with HIV, new
infections acquired in North Somerset, or
people with HIV moving into the area. Data
on new cases of HIV is only available on those
diagnosed in genito-urinary medicine (GUM)
clinics, where five new cases were diagnosed
in 2010.
For those people in North Somerset living
with HIV in 2010, the most common way they
became infected with HIV was sex between
men and women (49%) and sex between men
(41%). This pattern has remained relatively
unchanged since 2005. Only 4% of HIV
infections of those living with HIV in 2010
were from injecting drug use, a reduction
from 7% in 2005.
Over half of all infections were detected in
the 35-54 age group and approximately half
of those living with HIV reside in the Westonsuper-Mare
area.
Figure 2 Number of individuals seen for HIV care in North Somerset (2005 – 2010)
Source: Survey of Prevalent HIV Infections Diagnosed (SOPHID).
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