Government of Canada Report to the Secretary General of the United Nations on the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS

January 2006 - December 2007

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II Overview of the AIDS epidemic

Overview of the epidemic

At the end of 2005, 13,300 Canadians were reported to have died of AIDS and an estimated 58,000 (48,000-68,000) were living with HIV infection. Of these 58,000, an estimated 15,800 (11,500-19,500) were unaware of their infection. Approximately 2,300 to 4,500 new infections were estimated to have occurred in 2005 despite prevention efforts.

Figure 1: Estimated number of prevalent HIV infections in Canada, including range of uncertainty, by year²⁸

At the end of 2005, gay men and other men who have sex with men continue to be the population most affected by HIV/AIDS, accounting for an estimated 51% of all HIV infections. People who use injection drugs followed at 17%. Aboriginal peoples (composed of First Nations, Inuit and Métis), who make up only 3.3% of the overall population, represent a disproportionately high number of HIV infections, with an estimated 9% of new infections in 2005 and 7.5% of all prevalent infections at the end of 2005. Women accounted for an estimated 27 % of new HIV infections in 2005, where heterosexual contact and injection drug use were identified as the two main exposure categories. Disproportionate rates of infection have also been noted among people living in Canada who were born in a country where HIV is endemic. This population makes up approximately 1.5% of the Canadian population however, in 2005, accounted for an estimated 16% of new infections (via heterosexual contact) and 12% of prevalent infections at the end of 2005. ²⁹

Figure 2: Estimated exposure category distributions (%) of new HIV infections in Canada, by time period³⁰

The burden of the epidemic in Canada has been concentrated in four provinces – Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta – which account for 95% of all HIV positive test reports since 1985.

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²⁸ Boulos D, Yan P, Schanzer D, Remis RS and Archibald C. Estimates of HIV prevalence and incidence in Canada, 2005. Canada Communicable Disease Report 2006; 32(15): 165-174. http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/ccdr-rmtc/06vol32/dr3215ea.html

²⁹ Ibid.

³⁰ Ibid.

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