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One in five Canadians with HIV don't know they are living with it

'The current treatments are really quite amazing, and they’ve got it down to pretty much no side affects. So, someone can go into treatment not doing well at all and turn around totally' Steve Lamb AIDS Committee of North Bay and Area

NORTH BAY — Many Canadians living with HIV are unaware that they have the virus, in fact statistics show the number to be 1 in 5.

National HIV Testing Day was organized by the Canadian AIDS Society (CAS), local community organizations and health authorities across the country, with the theme “Know Your Status.”

Gary Lacassee, CAS executive director stated that "This event is about normalizing HIV testing, increasing Canadians capacity to make informed decisions regarding their own sexual health, and decreasing stigma. North Bay was one of an estimated 70 communities offering free “point-of-care testing.”

It only takes just a few minutes for people to learn their status.

The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit carried out testing at the AIDS Committee of North Bay and Area office, while ACNBA staff were available to answer any questions and provide links to anyone needing additional information.

In its first year, four people took advantage of the testing day locally, and all came back negative for HIV.

In contrast, response to this year’s rapid HIV testing drive began with people lined up at the door.

Throughout the day an estimated 15 to 20 people were tested, and all left knowing their status.

“We have a very active outreach team as well as a needle exchange which is a high priority population. We’ve been talking about this for awhile and I think it is the community building and the rapport the team has built with the people and the trust that saw the numbers go up this year,” said Steve Lamb support services coordinator with ACNBA.

Part of any HIV test is pre-test counselling.

“Which is just giving them a little bit of education about what is out there in the event that they were positive. There is excellent treatment available now,” said Lamb.

“It is to make sure that they are up to date, so they don’t think that if they got a positive that they are dying next month. If they’re using really old information, they may see it as a death sentence, where the current treatments are really quite amazing, and they’ve got it down to pretty much no side affects. So, someone can go into treatment not doing well at all and turn around totally.”

Year-to-date there have been two confirmed cases in the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit region; one in March and one earlier this month, which is inline with the expected trend.

In 2018, there were four confirmed cases in the Health Unit’s region.

Lamb says people living with HIV still experience stigma in their daily lives mostly due to a lack of education, an indication there is still a lot of work to be done.


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