HIV estimates missed the mark in British Columbia and Canada

Dr. John Hardie
Vancouver
Georgia Straight
December, 2008

The estimate of 12,200–13,000 people living with HIV in BC is wrong ["Life with HIV, a day at a time"]. The figures given by your reporter are an approximation of the number of positive HIV tests recorded in the province between 1985 and 2006. Many of these positive persons will have died of HIV/AIDS related diseases or other illnesses.

Thus the number of people currently living with HIV will be considerably less than that stated in the report. A similar mistake was made with the interpretation of the Canadian statistics. From 1985–2007 approximately 60,000–62,000 Canadians tested positive for HIV but many less are presently living with HIV.

Your readers may wish to know that 360 positive HIV tests were recorded in BC in 2006 which represents about 0.003% of the province’s population. The above facts present a truer representation of the extent of HIV in BC and Canada than that offered by your reporter.