Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/story/4144094p-4734761c.html
First Nations could see HIV epidemic
Number of Manitoba women infected quadrupled
By: Jen Skerritt
Updated: March 17, 2008 at 02:00 AM CDT
Public health officials are worried an HIV epidemic could explode among First Nations after a new report revealed Manitoba has a disproportionately high number of aboriginal HIV cases.
Manitoba Health released an HIV report at the end of February that details the number of HIV/AIDS infections between 1985 and 2007.
Dr. Pierre Plourde, a medical officer of health for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said the report reveals HIV is spreading faster in heterosexual First Nations populations than other populations -- the same way it did in certain parts of sub-Saharan Africa, where people having unprotected sex with multiple heterosexual partners helped the disease multiply rapidly.
Plourde said the report shows that since 1999, about one-third of all new infections are among aboriginals, leaving Manitoba with one of the highest per capita HIV rates in the country.
Unless public health can stave off new infections, Plourde said Manitoba may be faced with a huge HIV problem in years to come.
"We are concerned that the transmission dynamic of HIV in First Nations populations up in the North is very similar to what we see in sub-Saharan Africa," he said.
"The rate is nowhere near as high as what we've seen in some African countries in the past, but the worry is there's certainly a potential for an explosive outbreak."
Since 1985, a total of 1,477 Manitobans have tested positive for HIV, including 262 people who went on to develop AIDS. A total of 74 per cent of Manitobans with AIDS have died in the last 20 years, including at least two people in 2007.
The report also reveals how the disease has shifted from affecting primarily men, to an increasing number of women.
The number of women infected with HIV has nearly quadrupled over the last decade -- between 1996 and 2007, women accounted for a third of all HIV cases, compared to about eight per cent between 1985 and 1995.
Part of the problem, Plourde said, is health officials have seen an increase in risky sex over the last decade. Since the invention of drug therapy for HIV in the mid-1990s, Plourde said, there's been a slow erosion of safe-sex principles that encouraged people to use condoms and limit their number of partners.
That's evident by the spike in the number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) recorded across Manitoba in recent years.
In November, 710 new cases of STIs were reported -- bringing the total number of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis infections in 2007 to nearly 5,900.
"HIV has climbed, but more importantly we've seen a huge increase in gonorrhea, in syphilis, in all these other sexually transmitted diseases that can help HIV spread," Plourde said.
Plourde said health officials are hoping the introduction of anonymous testing last year will encourage more Manitobans to get tested and reduce barriers to getting tested in smaller communities.
Mike Payne, executive director of Nine Circles Community Health Centre, said the number of infected women, particularly First Nations women, has been increasing in recent years. He said frontline workers have noticed aboriginal women aren't well-connected to testing and treatment services, and often have trouble accessing HIV services in rural and northern areas.
While it's unclear whether stigma and fear are deterrents for people who live in smaller communities, Payne said, clinics are diagnosing people with HIV later and later, when they're very sick and close to developing full-blown AIDS.
"It's a very frightening new trend. Often folks aren't getting tested for HIV until they're sick," he said.
"A lot of times those are folks from the aboriginal community, in particular women from the community."
jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca
HIV in Manitoba by the numbers
1,477
Total number of Manitobans who have tested positive for HIV
243
Manitobans tested
positive for HIV who have identified themselves as aboriginal
One-third
Proportion of new HIV infections since 1999 contracted by aboriginals
74
Percentage of Manitobans with AIDS who have died in the last 20 years
One-third
Proportion of new HIV infections between 1996 and 2007 contracted by women
8
Percentage of new HIV infections between 1985 and 1995 contracted by women
First Nations could see HIV epidemic
Number of Manitoba women infected quadrupled
By: Jen Skerritt
Updated: March 17, 2008 at 02:00 AM CDT
Public health officials are worried an HIV epidemic could explode among First Nations after a new report revealed Manitoba has a disproportionately high number of aboriginal HIV cases.
Manitoba Health released an HIV report at the end of February that details the number of HIV/AIDS infections between 1985 and 2007.
Dr. Pierre Plourde, a medical officer of health for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said the report reveals HIV is spreading faster in heterosexual First Nations populations than other populations -- the same way it did in certain parts of sub-Saharan Africa, where people having unprotected sex with multiple heterosexual partners helped the disease multiply rapidly.
Plourde said the report shows that since 1999, about one-third of all new infections are among aboriginals, leaving Manitoba with one of the highest per capita HIV rates in the country.
Unless public health can stave off new infections, Plourde said Manitoba may be faced with a huge HIV problem in years to come.
"We are concerned that the transmission dynamic of HIV in First Nations populations up in the North is very similar to what we see in sub-Saharan Africa," he said.
"The rate is nowhere near as high as what we've seen in some African countries in the past, but the worry is there's certainly a potential for an explosive outbreak."
Since 1985, a total of 1,477 Manitobans have tested positive for HIV, including 262 people who went on to develop AIDS. A total of 74 per cent of Manitobans with AIDS have died in the last 20 years, including at least two people in 2007.
The report also reveals how the disease has shifted from affecting primarily men, to an increasing number of women.
The number of women infected with HIV has nearly quadrupled over the last decade -- between 1996 and 2007, women accounted for a third of all HIV cases, compared to about eight per cent between 1985 and 1995.
Part of the problem, Plourde said, is health officials have seen an increase in risky sex over the last decade. Since the invention of drug therapy for HIV in the mid-1990s, Plourde said, there's been a slow erosion of safe-sex principles that encouraged people to use condoms and limit their number of partners.
That's evident by the spike in the number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) recorded across Manitoba in recent years.
In November, 710 new cases of STIs were reported -- bringing the total number of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis infections in 2007 to nearly 5,900.
"HIV has climbed, but more importantly we've seen a huge increase in gonorrhea, in syphilis, in all these other sexually transmitted diseases that can help HIV spread," Plourde said.
Plourde said health officials are hoping the introduction of anonymous testing last year will encourage more Manitobans to get tested and reduce barriers to getting tested in smaller communities.
Mike Payne, executive director of Nine Circles Community Health Centre, said the number of infected women, particularly First Nations women, has been increasing in recent years. He said frontline workers have noticed aboriginal women aren't well-connected to testing and treatment services, and often have trouble accessing HIV services in rural and northern areas.
While it's unclear whether stigma and fear are deterrents for people who live in smaller communities, Payne said, clinics are diagnosing people with HIV later and later, when they're very sick and close to developing full-blown AIDS.
"It's a very frightening new trend. Often folks aren't getting tested for HIV until they're sick," he said.
"A lot of times those are folks from the aboriginal community, in particular women from the community."
jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca
HIV in Manitoba by the numbers
1,477
Total number of Manitobans who have tested positive for HIV
243
Manitobans tested
positive for HIV who have identified themselves as aboriginal
One-third
Proportion of new HIV infections since 1999 contracted by aboriginals
74
Percentage of Manitobans with AIDS who have died in the last 20 years
One-third
Proportion of new HIV infections between 1996 and 2007 contracted by women
8
Percentage of new HIV infections between 1985 and 1995 contracted by women