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Positive HIV tests and AIDS diagnoses by year
Trends in HIV diagnosesThe number of positive HIV test results increased between 2000 and 2003, following a steady decline since 1995. This rise may be partly due to recent changes in immigration policies which were introduced in 2002. HIV tests are now part of the routine assessment for immigrants and most provinces and territories include these results in their reports. Women have accounted for around a quarter of adult HIV diagnoses reported with known gender in each year since 2000. This proportion has more than doubled from 12% in the period 1985-97. When interpreting HIV test reports, it is important to note that there may be a "reporting delay" between the time when a person tests positive for HIV and the time when the report is received by the Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (CIDPC). The statistics for recent years are likely to rise as more reports are received. Even if adjustment is made for reporting delays, the statistics still include only those people who have come forward to be tested for HIV. Willingness to be tested may vary between different groups of people. Trends in AIDS diagnosesSince the beginning of the epidemic in the early 1980s, there have been 19,468 AIDS diagnoses reported to CIDPC. The number of annual diagnoses reached a peak in the mid 1990s and has since declined. A major factor in the initial drop was the delayed or prevented onset of AIDS due to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Use of these drugs has become widespread since 1996. After steep falls between 1995 and 1997, a more gradual decline in the number of diagnoses continued until 2000. In the analysis of recent years, allowance should be made for delays in reporting. According to CIDPC estimates - which are adjusted for such delays - the numbers appear to have stabilized.1 Reasons for this trend remain unclear but possible issues include the development of resistance to antiretrovirals and the uncertain duration of the drug effect. Females accounted for 7% of AIDS cases reported with known gender in the period 1979-94; in 2003 this figure was 25%. AIDS cases by ethnic status and year of diagnosis
The proportion of AIDS cases with known ethnicity reported by white people declined from 91.1% in 1988 to 53.8% in 2003. In the same period, there were increases in the proportions attributed to aboriginal and black people. These two groups are now highly overrepresented. In the 2001 census, aboriginal and black people accounted for 3.3% and 2.2% of Canada’s population respectively. In the same year, these groups respectively reported 5.9% and 15.6% of AIDS cases with known ethnicity. In 2003, these proportions were 14.4% for aboriginal people and 20.7% for black people. The relative size of exposure categories varies significantly between ethnic groups. Injecting drug use is a major route of transmission of infection in aboriginal communities. Among black people, most infections are probably acquired through heterosexual contact. Positive HIV tests and AIDS diagnoses by age group, until end of June 2004
In recent years the most notable trend in AIDS diagnoses across age groups has been the increase among young women. Prior to 1994, females represented 9.8% of all AIDS diagnoses in the age group 15-29; in 2003 this proportion was 41.0%. In 2003, women accounted for 42.5% of positive HIV test reports in the age group 15-29.
NotesAVERT.org also has a Canada statistics summary, statistics for other countries, and a guide to understanding the statistics. Sources:
References:
Last updated January 21, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||