About 96,000 people in the UK are currently living with HIV infection as the virus continues to spread, according to figures published today.
Diagnoses among several high risk groups, including gay men, are at a record high, the Health Protection Agency warned.
It says that as many as 5% of men who have sex with men nationally carry the virus – and one in 12 in London. Some 3,010 men were newly diagnosed last year.
But half of new diagnoses came from heterosexual activity – some 2,990.
The experts say about half of these infections were probably acquired in the UK, significantly more than ten years ago when 73% of these infections occurred overseas.
In total new diagnoses fell in 2011 because there were fewer cases involving people born outside the UK – leading to a reduction from 6,400 to 6,280.
This week is National HIV Testing Week and HPA officials say some of the increases may be a result of a greater willingness to seek diagnosis.
But Dr Valerie Delpech, of the HPA, said "These figures are a reminder of how vital safe sex programmes remain. Promoting HIV testing and condom use is crucial to tackling the high rates of transmission, late diagnosis and undiagnosed HIV still seen in the UK.
"We also encourage clinicians to take every opportunity to offer the test to those in higher risk groups and, in high prevalence areas, to all general medical admission and new GP registrants."
She added: "The good news is that with the excellent services and treatments available nowadays, if diagnosed and treated early someone with HIV can look forward to a normal lifespan, as well as protecting their sexual partners from infection."
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