So, how much do you know about HIV and AIDS in BC and Canada? The disease has been on the radar for three decades now, and has maybe grown familiar to most. But do you really know that much about it?
The book hasn’t closed on HIV and the science around it is continually evolving. For example, the demographics of the disease have shifted. Standard, routinized HIV testing is now widely considered an important component of the public health response to the longstanding epidemic.
Treatment and care have turned HIV into a chronic manageable illness – rather than the death sentence it once was. Still, HIV continues to be a devastating illness to those unable to access treatment. And it hasn’t gone away here or abroad. Parts of Canada, such as the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, are seeing alarming spikes in new cases.
Meanwhile, the global scientific community continues to work towards an end to the epidemic. An effective way to curb transmission exists called Treatment as Prevention¨ (TasP¨) , which was created in British Columbia. TasP’s successful implementation in BC has led to a consistent decline in new HIV cases – 65% since 1994 – making it the only province able to make such a claim. This approach forms the backbone of a global UNAIDS Target to end AIDS worldwide by 2030, now adopted by the United Nations as a Sustainable Development Goal.
So want to find out how much you know about HIV and AIDS? Take the quiz and find out.
So far the average score is 7 out of 10. Can you do better?