January 02, 2019

DAVIE VILLAGE POST Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada LGBTQ2+ Hub

Saskatchewan HIV rates: ‘We’re going to be facing a catastrophe’

Saskatchewan has a health crisis on its hands. The province continues to have the highest rates of HIV in the country at twice the national average and experts say 70 per cent of new cases are among First Nations and Métis people.

“Clearly there’s a lot of work to be done to work with those communities to prevent new cases,” said Dr. Ryan Meili.

At the Westside Community Clinic, where he works, physicians have seen the caseload for HIV positive patients go from 50 to 500 in eight years. Meili said the likelihood of getting infected really has nothing to do with race but rather living in poverty.

“They’re more likely to struggle with substance abuse or find themselves in situations where they’re practicing or exposed to unsafe sexual practices so risk factors are just higher when people live in poverty.”

Intravenous drug use continues to be the leading cause of HIV and not only are infection rates in Saskatchewan higher, but so are bad health outcomes with quicker mortality rates said Meili, one of seventy healthcare professionals, aboriginal and government representatives at a two-day conference to address issues of addiction and indigenous health at the University of Saskatchewan this week.

Read More Here: http://globalnews.ca/news/2623381/saskatchewan-hiv-rates-were-going-to-be-facing-a-catastrophe/#DVP

Post source : Meaghan Craig, Global News

About The Author

Rick has lived in Vancouver since 1991 - first off Commercial Drive and now in Renfrew Heights - with his husband of 34 years, Dan. He has a background in travel, an interest in LGBT history, and a fondness for all that is geek. As co-publisher of Davie Village Post, he looks for stories and news which are relevant to LGBT Vancouver, and invites you to submit your items and ideas.

Related posts