HIV rates in vulnerable men to be studied with $6.5M grant

published on July 31, 2015 by The Early Edition, in CBC

A SFU researcher is receiving a $6.5 million grant for his study on HIV rates among men who have sex with men.

Robert Hogg says HIV rates in that vulnerable population have remained the same while other groups in the province have seen a marked decrease in infections.

"Among men, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, [HIV rates] have essentially remained stable for the last few years," he said.

HIV infection rates have gone down dramatically in B.C. since the height of the HIV epidemic in the mid 1990s. According to Hogg, a senior investigator at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, the annual infection rate two decades ago was in the 700 to 800 range and now that number has dropped to less than 300 in recent years.

Hogg says certain population groups like intravenous drug users have seen a marked drop in infections, but this has not happened among men who have sex with men (MSM).

He added that quality of life for people living with HIV has improved drastically, due to the antiretroviral therapy drugs that were invented in 1996. The therapy makes transmission between people less likely and allows people who are HIV-positive to live longer.

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© Copyright BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
St. Paul's Hospital 608–1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-8477 | Fax: 604-806-9044
General inquiries: info@bccfe.ca
Media inquiries: communications@bccfe.ca
(Please do not use any of these email addresses to send personal information or book an appointment. To book appointments or contact the H2H clinic, please call 604-416-1517 or fax: 604-564-4893. Do not send your or your client's personal information via email.)

Our work serves clients and communities across British Columbia on lands and waters cared for and nurtured by the many distinct First Nations across the province. The BC-CfE humbly and gratefully acknowledge the stewards of these lands, particularly the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) on whose unceded, traditional and ancestral territories our offices are located.