CATIE Blog | Page 38 | HIV and hepatitis C news and opinions

How effective are HIV prevention methods?

October 27, 2015 • By Laurel Challacombe

Three decades of awareness campaigns have instilled a very clear and consistent message to the public: condoms are the most effective way to prevent an HIV infection. So what happens when a new prevention method emerges – and it is also highly effective? In recent years, multiple studies have confirmed that maintaining an undetectable viral load through the consistent and correct use of antiretroviral treatment (ART) by people living with HIV dramatically reduces the risk of HIV transmission. The reduction is so great that ART can now be offered as a highly effective HIV prevention option.

Canada’s anti-harm reduction guardians close door on hepatitis strategy

October 13, 2015 • By Laurie Edmiston and Melisa Dickie

We just returned from the first World Hepatitis Summit hosted by the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA) in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Scottish government. The Scottish government was a partner because Scotland has exercised leadership in the fight against hepatitis C and, unlike Canada, has a national strategy to combat hepatitis C.* The focus of the World Hepatitis Summit was viral hepatitis, specifically hepatitis B and C. Hepatitis B has a vaccine; giving it to newborns or school-age children in Canada is standard practice. However, this is not the case in much of the developing...

Oh Canada, we’re ready for your leadership

September 30, 2015 • By Patricia Bacon

I had the honour of attending the recent and first-ever World Hepatitis Summit in Glasgow, Scotland from September 2-4, 2015. What a treat it was to come together with hundreds of other people from around the globe to discuss the often ignored health issue of viral hepatitis. Here I was, “amongst my people,” talking like crazy about viral hepatitis as if it were important or something. How new and novel, because here in Canada viral hepatitis is the conversation we never have, despite the fact that at least 250,000 Canadians are affected by it.

How do you communicate HIV risk information?

September 15, 2015 • By James Wilton

“What is the risk of HIV transmission through condomless anal sex if I am the receptive partner?” “How low is the risk if my viral load is undetectable?” “What’s the risk if my partner was in the acute phase of HIV infection when we had sex?” Questions about HIV risk aren’t easy to answer and—with all the recent advancements in our understanding of HIV transmission and prevention—things aren’t getting any easier!

We’re in an HIV prevention revolution. Where is the excitement?

September 2, 2015 • By Marc-André LeBlanc

We’re in the midst of an HIV prevention revolution. Over the past few years, we have gained new tools and knowledge to prevent HIV, from pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to the knowledge that an undetectable viral load dramatically reduces the risk of transmission. So where is the excitement, especially in communities hardest hit by HIV? In Canada, gay and bisexual men are 71 times more likely to become infected with HIV than other men. Why aren’t these new prevention strategies being shouted from the rooftops of more organizations that serve gay men? Well, part of the reason is that service providers...

Wise Practices: An Indigenous approach to the annual business meeting

August 18, 2015 • By Laurie Edmiston

I recently had the fortune of attending the annual event of the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN), combining their annual meeting, caucus of Aboriginal people living with HIV/AIDS (APHA Caucus), skills-building conference and “Wise Practices,” the research conference of CAAN’s Aboriginal HIV & AIDS Community-Based Research Collaborative Centre. The event brought together Indigenous people from across Canada involved in the response to HIV and hepatitis C. Although I attend most years, these gatherings never cease to enthrall and move me.