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Epidemiology of HIV Statistics for Canada, Alberta and Calgary |
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The following are the most current statistics available at the local, provincial and national level, based on information from Health Canada, Alberta Health and Wellness and the Calgary Regional Health Authority. There are several things to keep in mind when reviewing statistics
Heterosexual Contact is the risk factor which is the most difficult to interpret. Currently, the CRHA reports Heterosexual Contact as a single risk factor category and includes NIR (no identified risk) as a separate risk factor4, while Alberta Health has developed four categories for heterosexual contact3. Health Canada uses three sub-categories2 - endemic - those individuals who were most likely infected via heterosexual contact in a country where HIV is considered endemic, partner at risk - the partner of the individual is known to be at risk of HIV infection and the third category of Hetero/NIR - it is described as those individuals for whom the only identified risk factor is heterosexual contact with a person of undetermined risk status.
NEWLY DIAGNOSED CASES OF HIV
HIV Cases By Gender
1999
Newly Diagnosed HIV by AGE Category (1999)
1999
Women Across Canada, women represent an increasing proportion of new cases of HIV. During the years, 1984-1994, women accounted for 9.6% of new HIV infections, this has steadily increased and in 1999, women account for 24.3% of all HIV infections reported in Canada1. In 1999, of the 521 new infections in Canadian women, 46.1% were due to IDU, 49.9% were due to some type of heterosexual contact and 1.2% due to blood products and 2.7% due to other factors1. In Alberta, women accounted for 30.1% of the HIV infections reported in 19993. Of those infections, 57.1% were attributable to IDU and the remainder were attributable to one of the heterosexual contact categories. In Calgary, women accounted for 20.5% of newly reported HIV infections in 1999, of these cases, 66.6% were due to IDU and the remainder were due to heterosexual contact4. In Alberta, in the first three months of 2000, IDU was the risk factor identified by 60% of women newly diagnosed with HIV3. For the first four months of 2000, IDU accounted for 50% of all new cases of HIV in Calgary women5. There appear to be no cases of female-to female transmission in Canada, although this has been poorly investigated1. Research in the US shows that of the few cases of HIV -positive women, who reported to have had sex only with other women, 98% had other risk factors1. At this time, there have been no confirmed HIV cases attributed to female/female sexual contact in North America2. Perinatal or Vertical Transmission of HIV Canadawide, a total of 676 infants have been born to HIV positive mothers, as of December 31, 20241. Up to 1998, 216 infants had been confirmed HIV positive and 62 had indeterminate status and were being monitored1. In Alberta, there have been a total of five perinatal HIV cases to date, including one new perinatal HIV case reported in Calgary, in 19993. The number of infants born to HIV infected mothers, increased steadily until 1994 and has been approximately constant since then. The majority of these mothers contracted HIV through heterosexual contact in a endemic country2. HIV and Ethnicity in Canada Information on AIDS and ethnicity is available for 93.7% of reported AIDS cases1. In contrast, there is only data on ethnicity for about 25% of new HIV reports in Canada1. The quality of information about ethnicity is highly variable. The information is collected in many different ways in different regions and provinces1. The majority of HIV infections continue to be among Caucasian Canadians. Canada wide, in 1999, 65.6% of new infections were reported among Caucasian Canadians1. In Calgary, during 1999, 12.3% of new cases were among aboriginals4. Among women in Calgary, 46.8 % of women diagnosed with HIV infection in 1999 were aboriginal4. Statistics are unavailable with respect to gender and ethnicity in the Calgary region before 1999. MSM In Canada, the proportion of new HIV cases reporting MSM as the risk factor has declined from 74.7% in 1985-1994, to 44.3% in 1995, and 37.15% in 19991. In Calgary , MSM accounted for 34.2% of new HIV cases in 19994. Provincially, MSM accounted for 24.5% of new HIV cases3. Injection Drug Users (IDU) Canada wide, IDU accounted for 8.9% of new HIV infections in 1985-1994, 33.7% in 1997 and 28.3% in 19991. In Alberta, in 1999, IDU accounted for 38.7% of new HIV infections reported, in addition to 3.6% attributed to MSM/IDU3. In Calgary , 31.5% of new HIV infections in 1999 were among IDU, in addition to 2.7% due to IDU/MSM4. Youth Age group information with regards to HIV infection, has been hampered by the reporting of broad age categories of 10-19 years and 20-29 years1. Currently more precise age group data is being collected and will be useful in the future.
New Cases of HIV in Canadian Youth1
Canada wide, 411 new cases of HIV infection were reported amongst individuals aged 20-29 years and an additional fifty were diagnosed among youth aged 10-191. In Alberta, three new infections, all attributed to IDU were reported amongst youth aged 15-193. An additional 46 infections, representing 28.2% of all new infections in Alberta were reported among individuals aged 20-29 years3. In the Calgary region, 28.7% of new infections were reported in individuals younger than 29 years4. Canada wide, among women, the age at first positive HIV test is primarily between 20 -39 years1. Among men, age at first positive HIV test is mainly between 30-39 years1. This gender difference is also found in Calgary, where over 50% of women testing positive in 1999 were under 30, while over 50% of men were over 354. Aboriginal Populations Comprehensive data on the incidence of HIV in the Aboriginal population is not available1. Although this appears to be a population at increased risk for HIV infection, data showing this are poorly collected. There are several studies underway to examine the risk of HIV infection in this population. This will also be aided by improving the quality of data collected surrounding ethnicity1. Prisoners Currently there is a lack of epidemiological data on the incidence of HIV infection among Canadian prison populations1. The existence of separate federal, provincial and local prison systems makes it difficult to obtain the numbers of prisoners with HIV. It is also important to consider is that many inmates will have been diagnosed HIV positive before entering prison and many more will not test positive until after they are released, making it difficult to determine rates for prison populations1. Health Canada has estimated that HIV infection is likely to be ten times higher within Canadas prisons than it is in the general population1. There is no data available for prisons in Alberta. The high rates are thought to be associated with high rates of IDU and MSM within the prison system1. Sources Canada Alberta Calgary |
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