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Monitoring of the HIV Epidemic Using Routinely Collected Data: The Case of the United Kingdom

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Abstract

We report on measures used to monitor the response to the UK HIV epidemic. We present analyses of routine data on HIV testing, diagnosis and care, and of CD4 back-calculation models to estimate country of HIV acquisition and incidence. Over the past decade, HIV and AIDS diagnoses and deaths declined while HIV testing coverage increased. Linkage into care, retention in care, and viral suppression was high with few socio-demographic differences. However, in 2013, incidence among MSM, and undiagnosed infection, also remained high, and more than half of heterosexuals newly diagnosed with HIV (the majority of whom were born-abroad) probably acquired HIV in the UK and were diagnosed late. HIV care following diagnosis is excellent in the UK. Improvements in testing and prevention are required to reduce undiagnosed infection, incidence and late diagnoses. Routinely collected laboratory and clinic data is a low cost, robust and timely mechanism to monitor the public health response to national HIV epidemics.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all reporting sites for their continuing help and support. National HIV surveillance is funded by the Department of Health. The views expressed in the publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Department of Health.

Funding

Ongoing National HIV surveillance in the UK is funded on an ongoing basis by the Department of Health. Funding is not received from any other source. Public Health England is an executive agency of the Department of Health in the United Kingdom.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facility of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SH, UK

    Brian D. Rice

  2. Department of HIV and STIs, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, Colindale, London, NW9 5EQ, UK

    Zheng Yin, Alison E. Brown, Sara Croxford, Stefano Conti, Daniela De Angelis & Valerie C. Delpech

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  1. Brian D. Rice
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  2. Zheng Yin
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  3. Alison E. Brown
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  4. Sara Croxford
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  5. Stefano Conti
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  6. Daniela De Angelis
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  7. Valerie C. Delpech
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Correspondence to Brian D. Rice.

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Conflict of interest

Brian D. Rice, Zheng Yin, Alison E. Brown, Sara Croxford, Daniela De Angelis and Valerie C. Delpech declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Rice, B.D., Yin, Z., Brown, A.E. et al. Monitoring of the HIV Epidemic Using Routinely Collected Data: The Case of the United Kingdom. AIDS Behav 21 (Suppl 1), 83–90 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1604-6

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