1. HIV, STIs and Hepatitis among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Ireland October 2017
2016 provisional data

2. HIV
2017 data are provisional

3. HIV notifications by route of transmission 2003 to 2016

4. HIV notifications among MSM by previous history of diagnosis, 2012 to 2016

5. HIV notifications among MSM by region of birth, 2003 to 2016

6. HIV notifications among MSM by age group, 2007 to 2016

7. HIV notifications among MSM by notification month, Jan 2016 to Sept 2017

8. Summary of HIV data
Increasing notifications of HIV among MSM since 2005
MSM are most affected by HIV in Ireland
Recently, increasing proportion of MSM were previously diagnosed abroad – 16% in 2012 versus 42% in 2016
this has been impacted in part by the change to a more sensitive case definition in HSE East in 2015 and in all other areas in 2016
In 2016, 14% decrease in the number of cases not previously diagnosed abroad, compared to 2015
Steep increase in the number of notifications from MSM born in Latin America while numbers among Irish born have remained stable
Notifications of HIV among males in 2017 similar to 2016: approximately 33 per month among males compared to 32

9. Gonorrhoea
2016 & 2017 data are provisional

10. Gonorrhoea notifications by route of transmission, 2013-2016

11. Rate of gonorrhoea notifications in men and MSM, respectively, per 100,000 population aged yrs,
Denominator data: CSO Census 2011 & 2016; MSM = 6% male population

12. Gonorrhoea: Summary
Rate of gonorrhoea notifications among MSM doubled between 2015 and 2016 (from 385/100,000 to 771/100,000).
During the same period notifications among males increased by 60%
Up to week 39, 2017, there were 1,624 notifications of gonorrhoea compared to 1,382 for the same period last year
81% of cases were among men & 19% among women
notifications among males have increased by 7% vs 2016
61% of notifications were among MSM (where mode of transmission is known)

13. Early infectious syphilis (EIS)
2016 & 2017 data are provisional

14. Early infectious syphilis notifications by route of transmission, 2012-2016

15. Early infectious syphilis notifications by region of origin among MSM, 2012-2016

16. 3-week moving average of early infectious syphilis notifications among males, July, 2016 – Sept. 2017

17. Early infectious syphilis: Summary
Up to week 39, 2017, there have been 315 notifications of EIS
97% cases were among males (n=305)
Median age among males: 34 years (range: years)
Where mode of transmission is known (n=186; 59%), 91% of cases were among MSM and 8% among heterosexuals (compared to 89% and 11%, respectively, in 2016)
30% of cases among MSM are HIV positive, a reduction compared with 2016 (38%) though the proportion of cases missing mode of transmission is high at 52%

18. Hepatitis A
2017 data provisional

19. Hepatitis A
Reports of increased numbers of hepatitis A cases in MSM in a number of European countries since mid-2016
3 circulating strains identified through sequencing
No cases of hepatitis A identified in MSM in Ireland in 2016
19 cases (37% of all hepatitis A cases) identified January to end Sept 2017
10 infected in Ireland, 6 outside Ireland & country of infection not reported for 3
Age range: years, median 32, mean 31.5
32% (n=6) had HIV, gonorrhoea or chlamydia co-infections
2016 provisional data

20. Number of hepatitis A notifications, by sex, and % of cases that were male, 2009 to end Sept 2017

21. Number of hepatitis A cases in MSM notified between January and September 2017

22. Hepatitis C
2017 data provisional

23. Hepatitis C
Reports of increased numbers of MSM being diagnosed with hepatitis C since late 2015
8 cases identified as MSM in 2015, 29 in 2016 and 11 in 2017 (up to end September)
Age range: years (median: 35)
69% HIV positive
70% of HIV positive cases and 40% of HIV negative cases diagnosed with syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia or herpes in same year or year prior to hepatitis C diagnosis
2016 provisional data

24. Number of hepatitis C cases identified as MSM, by acute/chronic status, notified between January 2015 and September 2017

25. Number of hepatitis C cases identified as MSM, by HIV and recent STI status, notified between January 2012 and September 2017
*Gonorrhoea, syphilis, chlamydia, lymphogranuloma venereum or genital herpes simplex in the same year as hepatitis C notification or in the year prior to hepatitis C notification

26. Acknowledgements
We would  like to sincerely thank  all who provided data for this update; The National Virus Reference Laboratory (NVRL), 
Microbiology Laboratories, Departments of Public Health, Consultants in Infectious Disease/Genitourinary Medicine,
STI clinics, GPs and all other clinicians involved.
More detailed reports on HIV and STIs in Ireland can be found at