Understand | Where is the fight against AIDS?

From July 22nd to 26th, the 25th^e international conference on AIDS organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS). The occasion is ideal to take stock of research on HIV and AIDS and to suggest tools to better understand the reality of people affected. The Press talks about it with two Montreal doctors.

The CATIE website

“We are at a crossroads with HIV, a condition whose face has changed a lot in recent years, particularly in Canada,” says Dr.^D Madeleine Durand, from the CHUM Research Centre. According to her, some new data “has not percolated well in the general population.” Hence her suggestion to consult the site, in French and English, of the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE). The page “The ABCs of HIV” answers various questions about this condition, including the difference with AIDS. “This is a very well-made general public resource, bilingual, up-to-date and accessible to the general public,” says Dr.^D Durand: I refer to it two or three times a year, particularly to consult the statistics.

Visit the CATIE website

The amazing statistics of 2022

When she says that “the face of HIV has changed a lot,” Dr.^D Durand talks about, among other things, the sharp increase (24.9%) in new cases recorded in the country from 2021 to 2022. The number of new cases recorded (1,833) is explained in particular by a significant increase in the Prairies and among First Nations members. “In the last two years, the most represented groups are heterosexual communities,” she adds. In 2022, the distribution of new HIV cases, all categories combined, indicates that 39% of cases were contracted through heterosexual contact, 34.8% through sexual contact between men and 20.5% through injection drugs. “It is important to update these figures, because epidemiology must dictate how to reduce incidence rates,” insists Dr.^D Durand.

A slide from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) summarizes the observations for 2022.

See the PHAC slide

“Denialism”: a podcast from Pharmachien

Driftsthis is the title of the podcast show by Olivier Bernard, aka the Pharmachien, who looks at “The secrets of the medical mafia”. In the 26^e episode of the series (or 5^e of season 3), Mr. Bernard looks at the denialism of HIV-AIDS and the medical treatments used to combat the disease. “Denialism” as in a school of thought that rejects generally accepted scientific conclusions. With the D^r Réjean Thomas, the Pharmachien dissects the story of Bernard Lachance, a Quebec artist and singer who died at the age of 46 in May 2021. After eight years of treatment, Mr. Lachance rejected the therapies prescribed by the scientific community and tried to cure himself with natural products. In Driftsthe D^r Thomas laments that the history of AIDS and the medical efforts made over the past 40 years to contain the disease remain so little known. “It is still the most important pandemic of the 20th century^e century and the young doctors who come here have zero education on it,” he says.

Listen to the podcast show Drifts

PrEP on the website of the l’Actuel clinic

PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), have you heard of it? If you answered no to this question, you are not alone. The D^r Réjean Thomas insists on this preventive treatment with antivirals whose results are very convincing. “PrEP is a very effective tool, with 92-100% success in preventing HIV,” says Dr.^r Thomas. Let us add that the Actuel website reminds us that “PrEP does not work 100% and that it is preferable to combine it with other means of protection.” PrEP is not a vaccine, it is a treatment, continues Dr.^r Thomas. “There are two ways to take the medication: every day or for a certain period of time when you plan to have sex,” he adds. Currently, some 5,000 people are being treated with PrEP, 40% of them on a time-defined basis, says Dr.^r Thomas. While the treatment has been prescribed since 2011 at Actuel and is well known in the LGBTQ+ community, it is “little known outside of it,” adds Dr.^r Thomas. Quebec reimburses this treatment.

Visit the Actuel website

Consult the page on AIDS prevention on the Actuel website

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