HIV infection rates in Northern Ireland are currently nearing their highest level since the disease was first recorded, the government’s top doctor warned today.
A growing public misconception that the virus is now curable is partly to blame for the rise, according to Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride.
He said the local population’s increased contact with people from countries where the disease was more prevalent was also a factor.
Dr McBride told Stormont’s Health Committee that incidences of all sexually transmitted infections are soaring north of the Border.
According to the latest available figures there are around 7,100 new STI cases diagnosed in the region every year.
In regard to HIV, the infection rate has risen steady since 2001 to a peak of 63 newly diagnosed cases in the year 2005 - the highest level since the disease was first recorded by Health Department statisticians.
The incidence dropped slightly in 2006 to 57 but Mr McBride described this as a blip in what was otherwise an alarming upward trend.
The CMO was briefing the committee on Stormont's new Sexual Health Promotion Strategy, which is set to be published in the coming weeks.
He pointed to the high profile ad campaigns about HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and said just because there was nothing similar today didn’t mean the disease was any less deadly.
“The concern the general public had about HIV is less than it once was,” he said.
“Unfortunately and tragically HIV is now regarded by some as a curable condition.”
Dr McBride said a joined-up approach had to be taken to improving Northern Ireland’s poor sexual health.
PA