Progress Being Made on HIV, But Much More Work to Do
Prince George, B.C. – A National Study, in which Prince George took part, shows that while progress is being made, there is still a long way to go when it comes to prevention of HIV,/AIDS and Hepatitis C infections.
From 2008 to 2012 in Prince George, rates of Hepatitis C saw a 12 percent drop to 65 per cent and rates of HIV dropped by two per cent to 16 per cent among participants who were injection drug users. But the HIV rate in Prince George is still 5% higher than the national average.
"Our study indicates that HIV and hepatitis C continue to remain at unacceptably high levels among people who use injection drugs in Prince George," said Dr. Russell Callaghan, PhD, a principal investigator on the survey and an associate professor in the Northern Medical Program at UNBC.
The I-Track study also showed that among the HIV-positive people in Prince George who use injection drugs, the percentage of those being treated with HIV medications increased from 10.5 per cent in 2008 to more than 68 per cent in 2012.
The survey of 144 individuals, was conducted from May to June 2012. The participants completed a 30-minute interview at the Prince George AIDS Prevention Program—Needle Exchange and then gave a finger prick blood sample, which was tested for HIV and hepatitis C.
The study also shows the prevalence of HIV was higher among Aboriginal participants (18% compared to 12% of other ethnic origins), it was also noted the Aboriginal participants had a higher rate of residential mobility both in community, as nearly one in four had lived in more than one community in the six months prior to the survey and in housing. 70% of the Aboriginal participants had lived in more than one type of housing during that same 6 months.
Emma Palmantier, chair of the Northern BC First Nations HIV/AIDS Coalition, and one of the leaders of the study, says that mobility and unstable housing situation has to be taken into account when planning prevention and treatment strategies ""We know that unstable housing and homelessness is a huge risk factor for acquiring HIV, but it's clearly something that we can change. Providing stable housing options for people will be a tremendous help to reduce the HIV epidemic here in the north."
Other communities involved in the National Survey were Whitehorse, Edmonton, Regina, Sudbury, Toronto, Kingston, Thunder Bay, London, Halifax, Montréal, Québec City, and Ottawa.
Comments
This is one disease that could basically be stopped in its tracks today….
but it would take a ton of co-operation from those who have it….
and of course the same from the promiscuious ones….
BCracer, perhaps with your knowledge, how about enlighten the rest of us on how to stop this.
You don’t have to be a drug user or have unprotected sex to get HIV. So what is your magic solution to the populace. Or are you just passing gas.
Drug use and unprotected sex are the main methods of transmission.
Sure some transmission is from mother to baby, those are unfortunate but in 9 months all of that can be stooped too….
It won’t be immediate but can happen pretty quick.
Better testing of blood supplies and new donations would have to be screened….
so I have to ak He spoke just how much do you now about HIV….
we can’t cure those who already have it but we can sure prevent the spread of it, like i said with co-operation, which we probably won’t get..
You can get aids , via sex, blood transfusions, organ donation, mother to baby, and occupational epossure ( doctors and medical people)
if you know of more He said, lets hear them
yep, HIV is too taboo, and nobody wanna talk about it.
I don’t professto be a know it all, but a lot of common sense went into my comments… and yes that won’t accompish much….without alot of help from EVERYONE
My guess is that we could impact the incidence of HIV/AIDS and Hep C FAR MORE EFFECTIVELY by focusing on education and the items noted in the article, than by relying on every person on planet earth who has these diseases, to “co-operate” or abide to some set of voluntary rules that virtually nobody will agree on.
The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS estimates that 25 per cent of people who are HIV-positive donât even know they have the virus.
These same people are believed to be responsible for 75 per cent of new infections.
Get tested. Be aware, educate yourself. http://hiv101.ca/
If you or someone you know needs HIV support, contact Positive Living North for support.
It’s no wonder that STDs are a growing problem. Promiscuity is more common among young people in an urban setting, pornography being so easily available cannot be promoting safe sex I am sure.
Widely used street drugs such as crack, crystal meth, ecstasy, today’s more powerful marijuana, and of course good old alcohol do not aid in a person’s judgement either.
The young need good parenting more today than ever before, to educate and prevent, until the person is old enough to use their own maturity and judgement.
metalman.
Comments for this article are closed.