It is estimated that over 60,000 people have been exposed to hepatitis C virus (HCV) in BC, with approximately 2,000 new cases identified in the province each year. Many people living with a chronic hepatitis C infection are unaware of their status until symptoms appear.
The latest available figures released by the B.C. Coroners Service show a record death toll from illicit drug overdoses through the first ten months of 2021. 1,782 people died, surpassing the 1,765 deaths recorded in 2020.
Today, February 7th, is the eighth annual African, Caribbean and Black Canadian HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This commemorative day helps raise awareness of the impact of HIV/AIDS within Canada’s ACB communities and is also an opportunity to combat HIV-related stigma and fear.
There is currently no cure for HIV because the virus is able to persist in the body even during long-term antiretroviral therapy. BC-CfE scientists have published new research that characterizes in detail the HIV sequences that persist in the bodies of viremic controllers. Viremic controllers are a rare group of people whose immune systems naturally control HIV replication to low levels, but who nevertheless still benefit from antiretroviral therapy. This new research adds to the body of knowledge that is needed to develop an HIV cure.
The BC-CfE’s Per-SVR (PrEseRvation of Sustained Virologic Response) team, joined this year by staff members of the Hope to Health Clinic, successfully coordinated another winter clothing and sock drive to help support the clients of the Hope to Health clinic.
We asked Niloufar Aran, a BC-CfE research coordinator of the Epidemiology and Population Health Program about her work and how it relates to this year’s World AIDS Day theme of ‘End Inequalities. End AIDS. End Pandemics’
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
