The HPA has some rather more up to date information which Keith and Ake have quietly passed over. Instead of Keith's out of date 2007 figures, consider the comment which follows. It relates specifically to the situation in the UK.

The emphasis on the most important sentences was added by me to ensure that certain parties would find it difficult to ignore.

""HEALTH PROTECTION AGENCY

In the initial years of the epidemic, diagnoses were predominately among persons who acquired their infection through blood or tissue products, injecting drug use (IDU) and by sex between men.

In more recent years, men who have sex with men (MSM) remain the major risk group, while heterosexually acquired infections, particularly among African-born individuals, have also become of increasing public health importance.

The number of infections among people who inject drugs has remained low as a result of early and effectual harm-reduction programmes.

Thirty years on, where antiretroviral therapy is widely available, it has transformed HIV infection from a fatal illness to a chronic manageable condition. Today, people treated for HIV infection can expect a near-normal lifespan with far fewer side effects compared to the earlier drug regimes.

However, the benefits of treatment rely on the early diagnosis of infection [3]. The surveillance of HIV in the UK has adapted to major changes in the clinical management and epidemiological features of the infection.

The data have been the driving force behind policies to prevent and control HIV infections and ensure those living with the virus are tested promptly and receive high quality health care.

Number of people living with HIV

Diagnosed and undiagnosed HIV infection

By the end of 2010, an estimated 91,500 (95% credible interval [C.I.] 85,400-99,000) people were living with HIV in the UK; approximately one quarter (22,200, 24% [19%-30%]) of whom were unaware of their infection (i.e. undiagnosed).

This compares to the 86,500 people estimated to have been living with HIV in 2009. By the end of 2012, it is expected that more than 100,000 people will be living with HIV in the UK.

An estimated 40,100 (35,300-46,700) MSM were living with HIV in the UK in 2010, of whom 26% (1636%) were undiagnosed (additional information on MSM is available [1]).

An estimated 47,000 (43,900-50,400) heterosexuals were living with HIV, of whom 19,300 (17,70021,100) were African-born women and 9,900 (8,800-11,300) were African-born men.

One in three heterosexuals living with HIV were born in the UK or countries other than Africa (8,800 [8,100-9,700] women and 8,900 [8,000-10,300] men).

Among heterosexuals, men were less likely to be aware of their HIV infection with 28% (22%-35%) undiagnosed, compared to women with 21% (16%-26%) undiagnosed. Low rates of undiagnosed HIV infection in women demonstrate the effectiveness of antenatal screening programmes.

An estimated 2,300 (1,900-2,700) people who inject drugs were living with HIV in the UK, of whom 21% (12-32%) were undiagnosed.""

So Ake and Keith's epidemic is actually a chronic manageable condition, which, with treatment gives a near-normal lifespan with far fewer side effects compared to the earlier drug regimes.

Ake has been bleating for years about research into HIV/AIDS being stifled by the Gay Marriage debate, and demanding that he be taken seriously, by which one might suppose that he wanted gay men locked up for the good of society (hasn't that been tried already?).

It now transpires that the research and the gay marriage debate continued side by side without negatively affecting each other, to the end that gay marriage is almost assured, and his worries should have been assuaged by the progress in controlling the disease.

Unfortunately, neither Ake nor Keith will be at all pleased at this, because their underlying agenda isn't about health.

Don T.