The number of HIV infections is growing by 15 per cent a year in Brighton and Hove.

HIV specialists have expressed concern at the number of new patients requiring their services.

About 140 people are diagnosed with the condition each year in the city, a number that is growing all the time.

About half of them have been infected within the last six months, which consultants say means that people are ignoring safer sex messages.

Infections are growing fastest among young heterosexuals and children whose mothers were not diagnosed before birth.

The news comes as the troubled Sussex Beacon, which provides specialist care for people with HIV and Aids, celebrates its 15th birthday.

The Sussex Beacon has suffered financial difficulties in recent times and this year its trustees asked the Martlets Hospice in Hove to take over some of the Beacon's management duties.

There have been fears that if fundraising does not improve, the centre could close after this trial year.

There are 1,500 people receiving treatment for HIV in Brighton and Hove and it is estimated that there are another 500 people who do not know they are HIV positive.

Between 1991 and 1996 there were 106 deaths at the Sussex Beacon. From 1997 to 2002 there were 31 deaths, while from 2003 to the present day, six people have died there.

Health professionals have warned that the decline in deaths has led to complacency, false optimism and risky behaviour, especially amongst the young.

It is thought that one in three gay men with HIV is unaware of his status. There is still no cure for HIV and treatment can be difficult and bring many side effects. Patients might also have to contend with being seriously ill and the social stigma and prejudice attached to HIV.

Robert Griffiths, fundraising manager for the Martlets, said: "It is one of those ironies. When Sussex Beacon opened, a lot of people were dying. With the drugs, the incidence of dying has reduced so people think it has gone away. Of course, it hasn't. People are living with something rather than dying of it."

Dr Martin Fisher, HIV consultant at the Elton John Centre at Brighton's Royal Sussex County Hospital, said: "We work very closely alongside Sussex Beacon and we use it very much for providing psycho-social support for people with HIV, to help people to start or switch treatments, for semi-acute medical treatment and for people who have been in hospital as a step down."

Sussex Beacon marked its birthday with a tea party for staff, volunteers and clients yesterday. There will be a public party at the Brighton Unitarian, New Road, Brighton, on Saturday, December 1, the 20th World Aids Day.

There will be an interactive exhibition from 11am to 4.30pm and a cocktail party from 5pm to 7pm. The exhibition will look at the history of HIV and Aids and why the Sussex Beacon is still necessary.

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