HIV infection rates among the over 50s have nearly doubled in less than a decade prompting a new campaign by a Wiltshire Charity to encourage them to get tested.

And according to new figures more than 60 per cent of patients are being diagnosed after they've had the virus for some time.

Sexual health and HIV consultant at Great Western Hospital Dr Jessica Daniel said it was likely older people did not think of their sexual health in the same way younger people did.

"It's important to encourage a patient of any age but patients of the older generation need to be focused on particularly.”

There are many reasons why the older generation is not getting tested.

Most women over the age of 50 are going or have gone through menopause and many believe pregnancy is less of a risk, so protection is not often used.

Another is that people are reluctant to tell their new partner about previous relationships. It is also possible that because the symptoms are similar to flu, they may not have been diagnosed correctly.

“There is still a lot of stigma and discrimination and that’s something we need to break down and address," said Dr Daniel.

"They need to know they can live long healthy lives now and there are medications that can suppress the virus so its not passed on.”

Age UK Wiltshire is on a drive to encourage people to get tested and to inform them of the virus.

Its Age Is No Protection is funded by Public Health England and was launched this week with a film about contracting the virus.

Simon Billingham is the director of services at Age UK Wiltshire. He spoke why he and many others backed the campaign to reach the older generation. “People can expect to live healthier lives than they were led to believe back in the 80s.

"There has been fantastic work done for the younger generation and the gay community to reach numbers, but there is an increase in over 50s and more can be done.”

Andy Ray is a positive speaker and HIV activist at Brigstowe, a company working with Age UK Wiltshire. He explained: “In 1994 and 1995 I lost two friends to HIV. I looked after them for the last six months of their lives, which was traumatic.

“In 2008 I got diagnosed and I thought my life had come to an end. I had let my friends down. But later on I realised I had been speaking about HIV negatively and so I started doing public speaking and turned my life around.”

The virus is passed on through bodily fluids and the campaign advises people to have an HIV test before contemplating unprotected sex. Taking effective treatment can prevent it being passed on to others.