HIV cases double
in Manchester, England

The number of HIV-positive people in Manchester, England, has nearly doubled during the last four years, rising 96% between 2001 and 2004, according to researchers at the Center for Public Health at John Moores University in Liverpool, the Manchester Evening News reports. There are now more than 2,000 HIV-positive people in the city, with about 1% of all men ages 35-44 in the city carrying the virus. Researchers say heterosexuals are becoming infected at much higher rates than gay and bisexual men and that many of the infections appear to have occurred among travelers who went abroad and had casual sex. Last year marked the fifth year in a row that Manchester had set record-high numbers of new HIV cases.