Detailed genetic analyses of the strains of virus that cause COVID-19 suggest that the outbreak took hold in Washington state in late January or early February, but went undetected for weeks. That’s the upshot of two studies published by the journal Science, based on separate efforts to trace the genetic fingerprints of the coronavirus known
The first outbreak of polio in the United States struck Rutland County, Vermont, in the summer of 1894. The disease began with fever, sore throat, and fatigue; it sometimes went on to damage the brain and spinal cord, paralyzing or even killing its hosts. Charles Caverly, a local physician, chronicled the devastation using detailed maps
Une tude suggre que les efforts de traçage des contacts aprs l’apparition des premiers cas de COVID-19 aux Ãtats-Unis et en Allemagne ont port fruit en janvier, la transmission communautaire ne prenant racine que des semaines plus tard. Les rsultats de l’tude contredisent ceux de travaux antrieurs selon lesquels le coronavirus avait continu de se
A British Columbia study examined the impact of intimate partner violence on the health of women with HIV Nearly 60% of women in the study said they had experienced intimate partner violence Women were more likely to die of chronic health conditions if they experienced this violence The widespread availability of potent HIV treatment (ART)
Number of new people signing up to take the medication in Vancouver also drops When British Columbians were told to stay home and stay safe at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Denis Laferriere did exactly that. It also meant that his dating life was put on hold. So, Laferriere decided to stop taking his
The Tri-Agency Awards are awarded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). These awards support outstanding students pursuing a doctoral or master’s degree in a health-related field. … Aniqa Shahid: CIHR Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada
As overdose death rates have risen in this population, life expectancy has increasingly narrowed. The life expectancy of people living with HIV in British Columbia has increasingly declined in recent years due to a troubling rise in overdose deaths in the population, aidsmap reports. Martin St-Jean, MSc, of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how we all live and work. It’s also changed how we do science. At Providence Health Care, our research community has been faced with shuttered labs and offices, financial uncertainty, and a rapid shift to virtual research environments. In this Q&A series, we’re asking PHC researchers and research staff to
Fifty-three year old Vancouver resident Sage Rinaldo lived with hepatitis C for many years before working up the courage to seek treatment. Rinaldo credits a community health nurse in the Downtown Eastside who gained her trust and helped her successfully treat her hepatitis C with a new anti-viral treatment. Now, Rinaldo is giving back by
Shocking numbers of Americans still think one has to be “careful” around people living with HIV. The level of perceived and actual stigma around HIV remains high, while public knowledge about it remains low, even though there are effective treatments and reliable means of preventing transmission. Those are among the findings of GLAAD’s State of
Enhanced training for those who collect specimens for COVID-19 testing can help increase the accuracy of diagnostic results, according to a new study led by SFU health sciences PhD student Natalie Kinloch. Kinloch, a Vanier scholar and research assistant at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, worked with health sciences professor Zabrina Brumme and
Research presented to the 23rd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2020: Virtual) last week on ‘Undetectable = Untransmittable’ (U=U) indicates varying levels of awareness and acceptance of this powerful message, despite the conclusive finding that people living with HIV who have an undetectable viral cannot infect others. Launched in mid-2016 by activists and researchers in New
Aniqa Shahid, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), has been successful in the CIHR doctoral research competition, winning the Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships Doctoral Award. In addition to supporting her current research, this award will help her with future applications for post-doctoral research opportunities, as well as
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the global battle against infectious diseases. Several countries have made improvements in their fight against new HIV infections in recent years, but reports say the coronavirus crisis has undermined HIV prevention and sexual reproductive health services for key populations and affected communities worldwide. Even the world’s leading HIV conference
Can you provide a brief overview of your lab’s current research focus? Before the pandemic, our lab studied HIV genetic diversity at the within-host and population levels, towards the ultimate goal of designing preventive (e.g. vaccine) or curative strategies. After COVID-19 emerged however, we, like other virology laboratories across the globe, pivoted our research programme
Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) PhD student and Vanier scholar Natalie Kinloch recently led a study that was published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, showing that improper collection of nasopharyngeal swabs is a major cause of false-negative COVID-19 diagnostic tests. She has been with the Faculty of Health Sciences since 2010, completing a BSc
Many Canadians have played – and continue to play – a defining role in our nation’s health. A special thank you to Kathleen Dickson and Dr. John Bergeron for pointing out that yes, indeed, there are also many women who have made – and continue to make – significant contributions to health. We have added
A special thank you to Kathleen Dickson and Dr. John Bergeron for pointing out that yes, indeed, there are also many women who have made – and continue to make – significant contributions to health. We have added their additions below, but this list is by no means complete. From open heart surgery to child-resistant
The dramatic saga of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) features an early sense of helplessness and frustration in the face of a mysterious new disease, courage on the part of the afflicted, and the gradual accrual of groundbreaking scientific advances that have brought hope to a formerly desperate situation. This progress began with a series
The dramatic saga of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) features an early sense of helplessness and frustration in the face of a mysterious new disease, courage on the part of the afflicted, and the gradual accrual of groundbreaking scientific advances that have brought hope to a formerly desperate situation. This progress began with a series
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.
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
