Call for more HIV testing on NHS

The Government must offer more HIV testing on the NHS to tackle the rising number of people in the UK who do not know they are infected, a group of experts warned.

In a letter to mark World Aids Day, the coalition describes the level of undiagnosed HIV as "a huge public health issue" and calls for testing to be made available in GP surgeries and community settings.

The letter comes after the Health Protection Agency (HPA) revealed last week that 28% of people with HIV (more than 21,000 individuals) did not know they had it.

According to the HPA, new national testing guidelines recommend wider HIV testing in areas of the country where prevalence of the infection is greatest and state that men and women aged 15 to 59 should be offered an HIV test when they register with a GP or are admitted for treatment.

These areas include London, parts of the south coast, Manchester and Blackpool - where prevalence has historically been high.

The HPA also highlights areas that have experienced more recent increases including areas surrounding London such as Luton, Watford, Slough and Crawley, and Northampton, Nottingham and the Midlands.

Letter, from MPs and charities, states: "There are more people than ever, over 77,000 living with HIV in the UK and there were also more new diagnoses in 2007 than ever before.

"The latest Health Protection Agency figures show 28% of people living with HIV in the UK do not know it.

"If we want to prevent HIV properly we need to ensure people know if they're infected. "This was a key conclusion of a recent meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Aids, which brought together HIV clinicians and experts from all over the country.

"The level of undiagnosed HIV is a huge public health issue. "Undiagnosed people are unaware of the specific risk to their sexual partners and so may not consistently use a condom; and since they are not on treatment, they are also likely to be more infectious.

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