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View Latest * About Us * Who We Are * Funding * Code of Principles * FAQ * Feedback and Corrections * Independence * Policies * Data Protection Policy * Privacy Policy * Code of Conduct * Process * Researchers * Toolkit * Training * Contact * Request a Fact Check Search Submit a Topic Lights off Lights on Home / **How common is HIV among heterosexuals?** > **How common is HIV among heterosexuals?** # How common is HIV among heterosexuals? 31 August 2016 3 minute read ###### Subject CLAIM: 41% of those living with HIV in Northern Ireland are heterosexual. ###### Rating ACCURATE The claim is accurate. Furthermore, Northern Ireland has observed the fastest growth in diagnoses over the past 10 years, when compared to the average both in Ireland and in the United Kingdom. ![\\"\\"](\\" content/uploads/2016/08/hiv-1-1024x538.png\\") Speaking of a new drug that would help prevent HIV, Northern Ireland Assembly Health chair Paula Bradley of the DUP stated: “41% of those living with HIV in Northern Ireland are heterosexual”. This is based on statistics published in the annual HIV Surveillance Report, which show that “of those receiving care, (331/809) acquired their infection through heterosexual contact.” It also states that out of the 809 people currently receiving treatment, 90% contracted the disease through sexual contact. Rates around the British Isles Across the United Kingdom, there are approximately 45,000 men living with HIV who were infected through sex with other men (MSM). This is out of 103,700people in total, and compared with 54,100 people who contracted the disease through heterosexual sex. This means that in the UK as a whole, 52% of people living with HIV are heterosexual. Data from Ireland does not reveal how many people are living with HIV. However, it shows a very similar proportion of new HIV infections through male to male contact. In 2014, 48.5% of new diagnoses were a result of homosexual activity, while 33.2% were from heterosexual activity. This is a drop from 50% in 2004. Trends in HIV diagnoses A vast majority of those diagnosed with HIV that had contracted the infection through male to male contact acquired the infection in Northern Ireland, while the opposite is true for those who contracted the disease through heterosexual activity. It is also important to note that 7% of those living with HIV in Northern Ireland did not get infected through sex at all, but other activities such as drug use. To date, there have been 22 cases of transmission through intravenous drug use, and another 53 through undetermined causes. Image: Photo used by license iStock/Gam1983 FactCheckNI is Northern Ireland’s first and only dedicated independent fact- checking service and a verified signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles. You can learn more about about FactCheckNI, our personnel, what our article verdicts mean, and how to submit a claim. Back to top Share Tags * HIV ## Read next ![\\"\\"](\\" content/uploads/2022/09/Untitled-1200-×-630px-20-260x160.png\\") Articles | Health ##### Does NI have a much higher fertility rate than the rest of the UK, with more births than deaths in every year of its existence? 20 September 2024 CLAIM: Since its foundation, Northern Ireland has had more births than deaths in every single calendar year. 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41 of those living with HIV in Northern Ireland are heterosexual