Injection drug use top reason for new HIV cases in Manitoba: report

published on October 9, 2019 by Austin Grabish , in CBC

Report calls for province to make it easier to access costly drugs needed for HIV care

For the first time, injection drug use was the number one reported reason for probable exposure of HIV in Manitoba in 2018.

And a report from the Manitoba HIV program says the province remains one of the last in Canada to provide comprehensive treatment and preventative medication coverage for HIV.

The Manitoba HIV program update says 2018 marked the first year that injection drug use surpassed heterosexual contact as being the most likely means of exposure to HIV.

It says 41 patients, or 35.6 per cent of clients, entering HIV care cited injection drug use as a possible transmission risk. A total of 115 people entered the program in 2018 and of that total 82 were newly diagnosed. Forty per cent of patients were female — a figure nearly double the national average for Canada.

The report says that over 50 per cent of new clients self-identified as Indigenous. Men who have sex with men was the second most likely category to report new cases of HIV and accounted for 24.4 per cent of new cases. Heterosexual cases were recorded at 20.9 per cent.

The report is from July but was brought up in question period at the Manitoba Legislature Wednesday by Opposition NDP Leader Wab Kinew, who asked if Premier Brian Pallister would take a harm reduction approach, calling the situation a crisis.

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Injection drug use top reason for new HIV cases in Manitoba: report

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