HIV Testing Day being marked across Saskatchewan

It’s HIV Testing Day in Saskatchewan.

For the third year in a row, the province is marking the day on June 27 to promote awareness around the virus with testing locations around the province.

The average rate of HIV infections in Canada is 6.4 per 100,000 people. Saskatchewan’s is more than double that at 15.1 per 100,000 people.

Amanda Sauer, education and outreach co-ordinator with AIDS Program South Saskatchewan (APSS), said it’s important for anyone to get tested for HIV.

“One in five people living with HIV right now do not even know that they’re living with HIV,” said Sauer. “One of the best things people can do is just get to know their status.”

APSS provides a number of services to those living with HIV/AIDS, including the largest needle exchange program in southern Saskatchewan.

Sauer added that roughly 100 to 190 people use APSS each day, and she’s noticing a higher need for the service.

Dr. Denise Werker, deputy chief medical officer for Saskatchewan, said injection drug use is the biggest risk factor in contracting HIV.

The virus is also transmitted through blood to blood contact, unprotected sex, and the sharing of tattoo, piercing, or acupuncture accessories.

Werker added that the annual testing day is a good opportunity to bring awareness to HIV.

“Everybody needs to know that there are opportunities on a regular basis to get tested,” said Werker, who added testing is free and confidential. “That would be through your physician, nurse practitioner, or public health clinics.”

Although Saskatchewan has the highest rate of HIV in Canada, Werker said the number of new infections has remained about the same. In 2018, 168 people were newly diagnosed, which was a slight decrease from 2017.

Werker added the provincial government has done a number of initiatives to stem the spread of HIV in the province.

HIV medication is now available completely free of charge, there has been increased funding for harm reduction within the public health authority and in Indigenous communities, and there has been funding for inhalation of drugs.

Drug inhalation is considered a safer method to consume drugs, as it does not pose a risk of blood contact to spread HIV.

During the 2019-20 fiscal year, the province has provided $4.7 million to provide HIV services within the Saskatchewan Health Authority and community organizations. There is also an additional $1.1 million for harm reduction programs.

A number of stigmas still exist around HIV, though.

“We know that people who are still in treatment think that they can still spread that infection; that is not true,” said Werker. “We know that when their HIV is controlled by treatment that they have a negligible to no risk of spreading that infection.”

Sauer added that HIV is no longer considered the death sentence that many still think it is.

“It’s a completely manageable illness …,” Sauer said. “Thanks to the medication that was created and thanks to modern medicine, people are living long, happy, healthy lives. There’s a man in Lisbon who is 101 years old and HIV positive.”

Testing for HIV Testing Day is set to be available in several locations around the province. More information, including testing locations, can be found here.