This article appeared in the Vancouver Sun on June 12, 1995.
by Petti Fong
Researchers at a national health conference this weekend said the annual number of AIDS cases has been steadily rising in all risk categories except in blood and blood product infections.
Dr. Steffanie Strathdee, an epidemiologist with the BC Centre for Excellence, said it's not all bad news, however. Each year, researchers continue their work on finding a cure, and people are becoming more knowledgeable about the disease and ways to prevent it.
"I did come out of it with optimism. There is a real Canadian effort to combat the disease. The effort is solidified and we have a rich research environment here."
It's estimated about 6,000 people in BC are infected with HIV, the majority living in the Lower Mainland. Recent studies released at the Fifth Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research in Winnipeg estimate that the total number of people infected to the end of 1994 in the country at between 42,500 and 45,000.
"There's no indication that the epidemic is going to end in the near future. The epidemic is still ahead of us. There's still a lot of stigma attached to it," she said. "In BC, we're very concerned about the injection drug users population."
Canadian figures show that in the last five years there have been between 2,500 and 3,000 new HIV infections per year.
Based on ongoing research throughout Canada, according to Health Canada, the pattern indicates a recent increase in three risk categories: men who have sex with men, injection drug users and "other." The "other" category excludes blood and blood products and includes heterosexuals, those with no identified risk and some individuals who may have been misclassified.
Analysis released at the conference also showed that the age of people infected by HIV has decreased. The median age of infection before 1982 was 32 years. Between 1983 and 1984, the median age of infection was 27 years. From 1985 to 1990, the median age at which infection occurred was 23, according to Health Canada.
A new Vancouver research project is trying to discover why young gay and bisexual men are still dying of AIDS, after a decade of information on "safe sex." Project coordinator Steve Martindale, who was also at the weekend conference, said the challenge is getting young people to apply the education to their own lives.
"They may know about the information, but they haven't applied it to their lives. Young people still feel invincible, while older men are better informed."
The Vanguard project has funding from Health Canada for the next three years.
In 1996, Vancouver will host the 11th International Conference on AIDS. More than 15,000 delegates from around the world are expected to attend.
For more information, contact:
Bonnie Devlin
Vanguard Project Coordinator
608 - 1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6Z 1Y6
Tel: (604)806-8306
Fax: (604)806-9044