The incidence of HIV continues to rise in the UK, with the number of new diagnoses doubling between 1999 and 2005. Since it first emerged in the UK in the 1980s, the populations affected and the identified risk factors, have shifted. In the early days of the epidemic, it was largely confined to three groups: intravenous drug users, men who had sex with other men and people receiving blood products (for example haemophiliacs). The introduction of heat treatment for blood products in 1985 effectively removed the last as a route of transmission. Until 1998, the majority of new HIV diagnoses in the UK were among men who had sex with other men. However in 1999, for the first time, heterosexually-acquired HIV became the biggest single category of new infections. Since 1999, numbers in this category have contributed most to the steep rise in new diagnoses of HIV in the UK. Within this overall picture there are also shifting patterns of transmission between certain minority ethnic groups. This POSTnote will update information on patterns of HIV transmission in the UK, and examine the extent to which trends have been reflected in changes to education and other services.