Perhaps it’s due to George Bush not supplying Canadians with condoms. Yes I’m sure that’s it. And it’s the multinational pharmaceutical companies’ fault too. And Halliburton. And what the state-run CBC calls the “‘so-called’ war on terror”.
HIV on the rise in Ontario immigrants, gay men
Despite education campaigns and increasing collective knowledge of the causes and effects of HIV, it continues to spread, and in Ontario the rise is especially alarming.
Over the past five years the incidence of HIV in Ontario has increased by 37 per cent, with an average annual increase of about six per cent, according to new figures by Dr. Robert Remis, a University of Toronto professor who heads up the Ontario HIV Epidemiologic Monitoring Unit.
“I think it’s discouraging and perhaps even alarming that in 2005 with all we know about the epidemic that we’re still seeing trends of continuing increasing of HIV infection in many of these populations,” Dr. Remis said.
The most dramatic increase, he said, occurred among certain groups of recent immigrants and among people infected heterosexually.
“But in two groups in particular: Those persons from sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean and other persons infected heterosexually, those have increased 87 and 77 per cent in terms of prevalence in the past five years.”
The incidence of HIV among gay men is also alarming, said Remis. His findings indicate there have been 3,800 new cases of HIV among gay men in the past five years, representing a 28 per cent increase.
Remis attributes this increase to several factors. A chief cause, he believes, is that many gay men are experiencing “safe-sex fatigue,” and they’re simply tired of being bombarded with the safe-sex message.
“Gay men have been hearing this message now for going on 25 years, and it’s very difficult to maintain these kinds of behaviours,” Remis said.
[…] Among the gay community some efforts have been underway to promote prevention.
Peter Bochove of Spa Excess, a gay bath house in Toronto, has brought in health counselors to provide HIV tests, safe-sex advice and free condoms.
[…] Remis said he expects the problem to continue to grow, and said it will only be slowed by increasing research and education dramatically. Ontario’s problem, he said, could be a microcosm of what can be expected to occur across the nation.
“I think the bottom line is this is a big epidemic. It’s a major public health challenge for Ontario and for Canada as a whole,” Remis said.
(Hat tip: Ross M)
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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