Low Prevalence of Unsuppressed Viral Load among Gay and Bisexual Men Living with HIV in Vancouver: BC-CfE Momentum Study

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93% of gay and bisexual men living with HIV are accessing HIV treatment, but additional strategies are needed to engage low-income and non-white men.

What are the key study findings?

  • Despite a high prevalence of HIV among gbMSM (23.4%), a small proportion of HIV-positive study participants (18.6%) had unsuppressed viral load (≥200 copies/ml), which is indicative of risk of onward transmission.
  • Only 2% of the HIV-positive participants were not aware of their HIV infection (meaning they were undiagnosed).
  • 81.4% of HIV-positive men achieved virological suppression—exceeding the UNAIDS target of 90-90-90, which would result 73% of HIV-positive people having suppressed viral loads by 2020.
  • HIV-positive men with unsuppressed viral loads are more likely to report risky sexual behaviour and to use gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and/or crystal methamphetamine than HIV-positive men with suppressed viral loads. These factors have been shown to increase risk of HIV transmission.
  • Men with unsuppressed viral load are more likely to have low incomes and identify as being from an ethnic minority group, indicating the importance of continued work to address health inequity and social determinants of health.
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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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