A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that HIV rates in the UK are among the highest in Europe.
The study, conducted by the WHO regional office for Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, has been released to coincide with World Aids Day and has shown a marked increase in the diagnosis rate of HIV in Europe between 2000 and 2008.
Almost 51,600 people were newly diagnosed as infected with HIV in 2008, with the most common form of infection in western and central Europe being sex between men, followed by heterosexual contact while injected drug use dominates in the East.
Elsewhere on the continent, almost half of newly diagnosed cases of HIV were in eastern Europe where the rate stands at 179 per million people - almost double the rate in the west and 10 times that of central Europe.
Causes of infection varied also, with homosexual sex the main method of transmission of infection in central and western Europe, followed by heterosexual sex.
Dr Nata Menabde, deputy regional director of the WHO regional office for Europe, said: "Good surveillance systems and better and more accurate data collection, will help us control the HIV epidemic by planning appropriate measures to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support."
Another 7,565 people were diagnosed with Aids, bringing the total number with the disease to 342,768.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
<http://www.worldaidsday.org/> (World Aids Day 2009)