P080 Dramatic reductions in new hiv diagnoses for MSM in england are not uniform for all ethnicities in a large london clinic

Abstract

IntroductionAlong with many other GUM clinics, we are seeing a reduction in new HIV diagnoses in MSM. Our clinic is based in East London and sees MSM of all ethnicities. Preliminary data analysis suggests that this reduction may not apply to the BME MSM population.MethodsWe analysed HIV testing rates from our large London GUM clinics. HIV tests, along with demographic data, sexual risk and ethnicity are collected routinely. We then compared positivity rates between ethnicities in 2015 and 2016.ResultsOver 2015 and 2016 there were 48,512 HIV tests performed, of which 12,248 (25%) were on MSM. There was a slight decrease in the number of HIV tests in MSM from 6,688 in 2015 to 5,560 in 2016. We saw a significant reduction in the numbers of new HIV diagnoses in MSM from 43 in 2015 to 25 in 2016. This reduction in new HIV diagnoses was seen in those of white ethnicity (from 30 in 2015 to 15 in 2016) and black ethnicity (from 5 to 3). However, this reduction was not seen in Asian MSM (2 diagnoses each year).DiscussionNew diagnoses of HIV are declining in MSM, likely due to treatment as prevention and PrEP. However, it appears that these significant drops are not uniform. Asian MSM may be less likely to engaged with traditional GUM services. Targeted work is needed to engage this group and help reduce HIV diagnoses further.