TV drama It’s a Sin offers hope over late HIV diagnosis rate in Leeds

Sexual health charity the Terrence Higgins Trust says Channel 4 drama It’s A Sin – which covers the 1980s AIDS crisis – has helped boost HIV testing, but there is still more work to be done.

Public Health England data shows that out of 184 people aged 15 and over who tested positive for HIV in Leeds, 105 were diagnosed late between 2017 and 2019. That equated to a late diagnosis rate of 57% – up from 47% between 2014 and 2016, and above the average rate of 43% across England.

PHE figures also show that in 2019, 38% of 20,700 people in Leeds who used specialist sexual health services missed the opportunity to get tested at a clinic through either not being offered an appointment or by declining.

The Terrence Higgins Trust says new drama It’s a Sin had already helped with a record number of tests ordered as part of National HIV Testing Week last week. The five-part series tells the story of a group of young, gay men in London at the height of the AIDS pandemic.

Trust chief executive Ian Green said: “Testing for HIV must become like having your eyes tested or a check-up at the dentist and the opportunities made available for that to happen.”

In Leeds, the rate of new HIV diagnosis was 11 cases per 100,000 people aged 15 and over in 2019. This was above the average across the country, of eight per 100,000.

Clare Perkins, PHE’s deputy director of priorities and programmes, said: “We urge those at risk of HIV to get tested regularly. Through early detection and treatment, people with HIV can expect to live as long as people without.”