2012 National study reports drop in HIV and Hepatitis C infection rates, increase in treatment among people who inject drugs in Prince George

December 2, 2013
HIV and Hepatitis C infection rates have decreased among people who inject drugs according to a national survey conducted in the spring of 2012.
This is the second time that the I-Track Survey has been conducted in Prince George, with the original study taking place in 2008. From 2008 to 2012, rates of Hepatitis C saw a 12 percent drop to 65 per cent and rates of HIV dropped by two per cent to 16 per cent among people who inject drugs surveyed.
The I-Track study also showed that among the HIV-positive people in Prince George who use intravenous drugs, the percentage of those being treated with HIV medications increased from 10.5 per cent in 2008 to more than 68 per cent in 2012.
The survey was conducted from May to June 2012 by a collaborative team from the Northern BC First Nations HIV/AIDS Coalition and Northern Health, and was funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. This second round of the Prince George I-Track survey included 144 individuals — 101 Aboriginal and 43 reporting other ethnic backgrounds. The participants completed a 30-minute interview at the Prince George AIDS Prevention Program—Needle Exchange and then gave a finger prick blood sample, which was tested for HIV and hepatitis C. Approximately 19 per cent of participants in the 2012 survey reported that they had also participated in the 2008 survey.
The HIV/AIDS rates found in the study from early 2012 are still relatively high, five-per cent above the national average. In an effort to further decrease HIV/AIDS rates overall, Northern Health and community partners are taking a targeted approach.
“A first step to helping prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS is bringing awareness to those living with the disease as well as  encouraging  testing in high risk individuals and in those who do not know their HIV status,” said Dr. William Osei, Northern Health Medical Officer. “The information for the I-Track surveys reinforces the important work underway with our award-winning STOP HIV/AIDS campaign in northern B.C., which promotes the need for early HIV/AIDS testing and, if necessary, early treatment.”
STOP HIV/AIDS — which stands for Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention of HIV/AIDS — was conducted as a pilot project from 2010 to 2013 in Prince George and Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. In May 2012, Northern Health launched the public component of its pilot project, which was an ambitious, multi-media education and awareness campaign conducted in collaboration with community partners including the Northern BC First Nations HIV/AIDS Coalition. This campaign has proven effective in increasing testing for HIV/AIDS in northern B.C.
"Our study indicates that HIV and hepatitis C continue to remain at unacceptably high levels among people who use injection drugs in Prince George," said Dr. Russell Callaghan, PhD, a principal investigator on the survey and an associate professor in the Northern Medical Program at the University of Northern British Columbia.
Individuals identifying themselves as Aboriginal had a higher HIV prevalence 18 per cent than participants reporting other ethnic backgrounds 12 per cent. The 2008 survey also demonstrated that Aboriginal participants had significantly higher prevalence of HIV in comparison to other people who inject drugs: 23 per cent versus 10 per cent.
The survey also found that participants had high patterns of residential mobility, with many individuals reporting that they had lived recently in more than one city, town, or reserve. In the 2012 survey, approximately 18 per cent of individuals reported living in more than one city or community (almost all of which were in northern BC) in the six months prior to the interview.
Among Aboriginal participants, this pattern of mobility occurred in 23 per cent of participants. In addition, participants reported strikingly high patterns of unstable housing. For example, approximately 70 per cent of Aboriginal participants indicated living in more than one type of housing situation in the six months prior to the interview (e.g., living at a friend’s place, motel, own place, on the street), in comparison to approximately 56 per cent of people from other ethnic backgrounds. As well, one-half of the 2012 survey participants reported living in a shelter in the six months prior to the interview.
"Because people are moving to and from cities and towns and reserves throughout northern BC, we must take that into account in our HIV and hepatitis C prevention and treatment strategies throughout the North,” said Emma Palmantier, chair of the Northern BC First Nations HIV/AIDS Coalition, and one of the leaders of the study. "We know that unstable housing and homelessness is a huge risk factor for acquiring HIV, but it's clearly something that we can change. Providing stable housing options for people will be a tremendous help to reduce the HIV epidemic here in the north."
This survey in Prince George was part of the National I-Track surveillance system which was conducted from April 2010 to August 2012 in Prince George, Whitehorse, Edmonton, Regina, Sudbury, Toronto, Kingston, Thunder Bay, London, Halifax, Montréal, Québec City, and Ottawa.

Contact Information

Media Contacts:
Northern Health media line – 877-961-7724
Dr. Russell Callaghan - 250.960.5668 - russ.callaghan@unbc.ca
Emma Palmantier - 250.561.127  - emma@csfs.org

Read the full report.