Black African men face the highest levels of late diagnosis of HIV in the UK. Late diagnosis results in poorer health outcomes so Black African men need to get tested for HIV regularly.

What does late diagnosis for HIV mean?

A late diagnosis means that you’ve tested positive for HIV after the virus has already started to damage your immune system. 

Compared to someone diagnosed promptly, Public Health England says those diagnosed late face an eightfold increased risk of death.

Treatment works better for you when diagnosed promptly.

HIV late diagnosis and Black African men in the UK

65% of Black African men diagnosed with HIV in 2018 were diagnosed late.

Here is why late diagnosis matters;

• Earlier diagnosis is better: Early diagnosis of HIV reduces the chances of it causing serious damage to your immune system. People who are diagnosed early and start treatment immediately have better health outcomes than those diagnosed late.

• Testing helps stop HIV being passed on– In the vast majority of cases, people get HIV from someone who doesn’t know they have it. People who are diagnosed late live between 3 to 5 years before finding out they have it. Lowering the number of undiagnosed HIV cases reduces the chances of HIV being passed on as people always take action to protect others from getting it.

Get tested

Now that we’ve established that late diagnosis isn’t great, testing regularly is the only way to avoid it. Think of ‘regularly’ as at least once a year or more if you change sexual partners.

There are different ways to get tested that include the following:

• at a sexual health clinic or a community testing site
• at your GP
• using a self-sampling kit or a self-testing kit