Research: Magazine Gay Globe
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120% Increase in HIV Cases in Montreal
According to: McGill University – New HIV diagnoses are skyrocketing in the Montreal area. The number has risen from 141 in 2021 to 310 in 2022, a record high in the past decade, according to a report by the Montreal Regional Public Health Directorate published last November. Jean-Pierre Routy, a professor, explains: “Factors contributing to the rise in HIV infections in Quebec include the lack of prevention through condoms and the fact that PrEP, an HIV medication taken before sexual intercourse, is not used by a sufficient number of at-risk individuals. Another factor is the increase in population due to immigration, a portion of whom are infected with HIV. Although the majority of people are already receiving treatment upon their arrival in Quebec and are rarely ill, they still need support and information to continue using effective medications. HIV is no longer seen as a new condition; now, it is a second generation of at-risk individuals.”
Gilead Criticized Over Accessibility of New Treatment
According to: La Presse – Several prominent figures – scientists, politicians, celebrities – have called on Gilead to make a promising treatment for HIV infections more accessible. This treatment, developed from the molecule lenacapavir, could “change the game” in the fight against HIV, which causes AIDS, according to an open letter signed by former heads of state like former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, actors such as Sharon Stone, and researchers like Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, who co-discovered the virus in the 1980s. Approved since 2022 by American and European health authorities, this treatment is considered particularly promising as it requires only two injections per year for those infected with the virus. It represents a major hope for individuals “who do not have access to a high-quality healthcare system,” according to this letter addressed to Gilead’s CEO, Daniel O’Day.
Risk of Sexual Transmission of HIV in the Context of Viral Load Suppression
According to: Government of Canada – In 2018, the Public Health Agency of Canada published a systematic review to estimate the risk of sexual transmission of HIV in the context of antiretroviral treatment. In 2022, the Agency asked the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health to conduct a rapid review of evidence published since 2017. In studies examining the risk among people living with HIV who are on antiretroviral treatment and maintain a suppressed viral load, no sexual transmission of HIV was observed. This update highlights the consistency of the evidence since the Agency’s review in 2018. There is no evidence of HIV transmission to sexual partners when a person living with HIV is on antiretroviral treatment and maintains a suppressed viral load.