Conversations That Matter: HIV/AIDS is still a pandemic

Dr. Julio Montaner discusses HIV/AIDS, where we are at in treatment, where we need to go and what roadblocks still need to be removed

In 1996, Dr. Julio Montaner hosted the Vancouver International AIDS Conference and shared the HAART antiretroviral treatment he and a team of committed scientists was pioneering in Vancouver.

Since then, he has pioneered the concept of treatment as prevention, rather than only targeting people who were already sick.

Montaner was the first person to advocate expanding the antiretroviral coverage to curb the impact on the HIV/AIDS pandemic and decrease progression to AIDS and death.

So effective have been Montaner’s efforts that the concept of treatment as prevention has been implemented with great success in B.C. and around the world. In 2013, it was fully incorporated into World Health Organization guidelines.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below

Laboratory Order Forms

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