Sask. reports record number of new HIV cases
Saskatchewan healthcare officials announced that the province underwent a record breaking increase of new HIV cases, with 237 new diagnoses in 2021.
The increase, driven in part by intravenous drug use, marks a 30 per cent increase from the year previous.
Saskatchewan routinely exceeds the national average of HIV cases per capita, but 2021 marked an all time high with the provincial rate being approximately three times the national average.
Dr. Johnmark Opondo, a medical health officer with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, explained there are multiple new factors to the increase in infections.
“The key drivers of HIV transmission in our community, in Saskatchewan, which is in various proportions, are needle sharing (with) partners and sexual transmission,” he said.
“So that’s really the underlying foundation of why our numbers are up.”
According to Margaret Kisikaw Piyesis, the CEO of Communities Alliances and Networks, the pandemic denying essential services to those suffering with addictions, had a lot to do with the historic increase.
“We’ve seen some of the services which are most essential to people who are actively using close down,” she explained. “So needle exchange programs, there was limited access to care, treatment and support for people who are most at risk of HIV, Hepatitis C, Syphilis, some of the other diseases that were have in our communities around addictions.”
There are services to minimize the spread of HIV. The Newo Yotina Friendship Centre offers clean needles but only has enough funding to operate during the day.
“We’re trying our best to send out clean needles, clean pipes, clean things so that you know it’s not being transmitted in that direction but I feel like we can’t work at our maximum capacity with the hours that we have,” said Emile Gariepy, who works at the centre.
“If we could reach out with longer hours, then we could reach out to more people.”
Due to the pandemic putting stress on the healthcare system as well as other essential services, it is not surprising that the numbers have increased, according to Opondo.
“If you stop attending care, or you skip your medication, that becomes a little bit of a risk factor,” he said. “There’s enough of an underlying pressure of HIV and when the pandemic and other issues distracted our patients from attending care, you know that was enough for our HIV numbers to inch back upward again.”
Going forward, Opondo maintains that the best way to the control the numbers is getting those already living with HIV the treatment they need, being proactive and educating the public on the risks of the disease.
“When we had an HIV focused strategy from 2006 to 2011, we did show by bringing focus and bringing all the attention we could to addressing HIV, we were able to bring the numbers down,” he said.
“So I am hopeful we can address the situation.”
New HIV cases reported in Saskatchewan (Annual)
- 2009 - 199
- 2010 - 174
- 2011 - 188
- 2012 - 184
- 2013 - 129
- 2014 - 121
- 2015 - 163
- 2016 - 174
- 2017 - 177
- 2018 - 168
- 2019 - 199
- 2020 - 184
- 2021 - 237
(Sources: Canada Communicable Disease Report: 2009-2014 / Government of Canada / Saskatchewan Ministry of Health).
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.