HIV and AIDS

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). HIV attacks the immune system, resulting in a chronic, progressive illness and leaving infected people vulnerable to opportunistic infections and cancers. The median time from infection to AIDS diagnosis now exceeds 10 years. AIDS is fatal. There is no cure.

HIV is transmitted through:

• unprotected sexual intercourse
• needle-sharing
• pregnancy, delivery and through breast feeding (from an infected mother to her infant)

History

The first case of AIDS in Canada was reported in 1982. Up to December 31, 2003, 19,344 AIDS cases have been reported to Health Canada but the total number of AIDS cases that have occurred in Canada since the epidemic began is estimated to be close to 20,000 (after adjusting for under-reporting and reporting delay).

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is actually several epidemics, occurring in specific populations. The early epidemic primarily affected men who have sex with men (MSM) and those who received blood and blood products. The current epidemic, measured from 1997, primarily affects injection drug users (IDU), MSM and, increasingly, women and Aboriginal people. Although these epidemics spread at different rates, the social factors and conditions that lead to the spread are similar.

New trends

Despite improved drug and therapy programs, the number of persons living with HIV in Canada is rising, from an estimated 40,000 in 1996 to 56,000 in 2002. In the case of AIDS, analysts are concerned that the decline in the annual number of new cases has levelled off since 1997. The virus itself changes quickly, mutating, creating new strains which present challenges in detection, prevention and treatment. No cure or vaccine exists. New treatments are very costly and it is too soon to measure their full effect.

Risk groups (in Canada)

• Aboriginal people
  AIDS among Aboriginal Persons in Canada is a pressing issue
• Injection drug users
• Men who have sex with men (MSM)
• Women
  Women represent an increasing proportion of reported HIV cases in Canada
• Youth

Interactive resources

The Public Health Agency of Canada offers the following resources:

• Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada
• What you need to know about STIs

Reports and research

• Canada's Report on HIV/AIDS 2003 - Looking Forward: Focussing the Response
• Community-Based HIV/AIDS Research Program
• Canadian HIV Trials Network (federally funded non-profit national organization created to facilitate clinical research on new HIV/AIDS therapies and vaccines)
• Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada
• HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Updates
• HIV/AIDS Pandemic
• Internationally Recognized Program Tracks Emerging HIV Strains
• Living with Dying, Dying at Home: An AIDS Care Team Resource Manual
• National HIV/AIDS Laboratories
• Report of the Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada (Krever Commission Report, 1997)
• Surveillance reports: HIV and AIDS in Canada

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