MORE THAN 200 people in Ireland have been diagnosed with HIV in the first five months of this year.

According to provisional data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), there were 212 new HIV diagnoses from January to May 2018.

A total of 504 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in 2017, on a par with the 503 new HIV diagnoses in 2016. In Ireland, on average, 10 people per week are diagnosed with the condition.

The number of HIV diagnoses in Ireland has increased by 35% since 2011. A notable jump in the figures became apparent in 2013 and 2014.

Prior to this there had been a consistent level of about 300-350 HIV diagnoses a year. There were 485 in 2015 and 508 in 2016.

Official figures are likely to understate the number of people living with HIV as, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), 15% of people living with HIV in western Europe are undiagnosed.

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In a statement, HIV Ireland described the provisional figures for 2018 as “worrying”, noting that HIV diagnoses this year are beginning to surpass those of 2017.