A HIV specialist has welcomed a “tremendous medical achievement” which means young people with the virus can now expect a near-normal life expectancy.

Sussex Beacon clinical director Jason Warriner said he had seen seismic changes in the way the condition has been treated over the past two decades.

He said: “In the 1989s people were dying from the virus and then in the 1990s there was treatment but some people were having to take up to 40 tablets a day.

“These also had severe side-effects.

“Nowadays people are taking one or two tablets and the side effects are no so severe.

“We are now treating and supporting people in a very different way and working more closely with other agencies, particularly now that people with HIV are living longer and into old age.”

Mr Warriner said it was also vital people were diagnosed at an early stage so they could start treatment as soon as possible.

“We cannot clear the virus completely but great strides have been taken and people are now able to get on, get out there and live their lives.”

The Brighton-based Sussex Beacon provides care and support for people with HIV and Aids.

This includes an inpatient unit, one of the only ones of its kind outside of London.

Brighton and Hove also has one of the highest rates of HIV in the country apart from the capital.

A study in The Lancet HIV medical journal has found advances in antiretroviral drugs now give young people with the disease a chance to live well into old age.

Those aged 20 who started antiretroviral therapy in 2010 are projected to live ten years longer than those first using it in 1996, it found.

However, when all age groups are considered, life expectancy for people with HIV is still lower than the general population.

HIV, which can lead to Aids if left untreated, was once considered a certain death sentence.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said: “It’s a tremendous medical achievement that an infection that once had such a terrible prognosis is now so manageable, and that patients with HIV are living significantly longer.

“We hope the results of this study go a long way to finally removing any remaining stigma associated with HIV.

“We want it to ensure that patients with HIV can live long and healthy lives without experiencing difficulties in gaining employment and - in countries where it is necessary - obtaining medical insurance.”

Terrence Higgins Trust medical director Michael Brady said: “This reminds us just how far we’ve come since the start of the HIV epidemic in the 1980s.

“Medical advances now mean people with HIV live long and healthy lives.”

People aged over 50 now represent one in three of all those living with HIV.

Dr Brady said: “As it stands, the healthcare, social care and welfare systems simply aren’t ready to support the increasing numbers of people growing older with HIV.

“We need a new model of care to better integrate primary care with HIV specialist services.”