New HIV cases drop among injection drug users in BC

New cases of HIV among those who use drugs by injection continue to decline in B.C., according to a report by the provincial health officer.

A major factor in the decline has been the expansion of Highly Active Anti-retroviral Therapy (HAART) and harm reduction programs, says the report.

Introduced in 1997, HAART is a combination of three or more drugs from at least two classes of antiretroviral drugs. It’s designed to attack HIV in various stages of its life cycle.

The latest research from the BC Centre for Excellence shows that the number of people living with HIV in B.C. who were receiving HAART increased by 547 percent from 1996 to 2009. During that same time period, new HIV diagnoses fell by 52 percent.

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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