HIV/AIDS series: Island woman’s life marked by stigma

At age 30, Nicole could be a poster woman for good looks and good health – except for one issue she feels compelled to keep secret.

While her family and close friends know, she is very careful about telling others that, at age 21, she was diagnosed with HIV.

…

There’s no reason for Nicole not to have a healthy sexual relationship without fear of transmitting HIV, said Dr. Julio Montaner, one of the world’s pre-eminent HIV/AIDS experts.

Montaner, a professor of medicine at the University of B.C., said that thanks to HAART – a therapy that he helped develop – Nicole’s viral load is undetectable and, as such, it is not possible for her to transmit HIV to others.

Katherine Dedyna
Times Colonist
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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

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