Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
BBC News - November 22, 2006
In 2005 a total of 4,195 people were in care or treatment for HIV in the region's clinics - including 613 cases newly diagnosed that year.
The figures are a four-fold increase on the 150 new cases diagnosed in 1997.
The majority of new HIV cases came from Greater Manchester, which has also seen a massive increase in syphilis figures.
Dr Lorraine Lighton, the HPA's North West Regional Sexual Health Lead, said: "People need to sit up and take notice.
"HIV/AIDS is not something that came and went in the 1980s - it is a real and present threat to public health.
"The majority of new HIV and syphilis cases were recorded in men who have sex with men, but we're seeing growing numbers in heterosexual men and women and in the country as a whole the majority of new cases are in heterosexuals."
There are an estimated 63,500 adults living with HIV in the UK.
Dr Lighton added: "People need to take responsibility for their own actions.
"This means cutting down on the number of sexual partners and using a condom at all times."
Syphilis problem
In August, the HPA revealed that cases of the potentially fatal disease syphilis have almost doubled in the North West in two years.
In the region, half of the 499 reported cases in 2005 were at three Manchester clinics. Preston, Blackpool and Southport also had large numbers.
Figures from the HPA North West show that in 2003, 261 cases were reported, rising to almost 500 in 2005.
There were only 333 diagnosed cases of syphilis in the whole of the UK in 2000 but by 2005 the figure had risen to 2,807.
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