Aboriginal Women, Babies Hit Hard By HIV

Aboriginal Women, Babies Hit Hard By HIV

Friday, August 21, 2009 at 15:02

Provincial health officials are expecting more than 200 new cases of HIV in Saskatchewan this year — more than triple the numbers seen five years ago — and most of the new cases will show up in the province’s Aboriginal population.

Dr. Moira McKinnon, Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, says there are some troubling trends in the numbers, such as that more women than men are becoming infected, and babies are being born with the virus.

“That is like a developing country scenario. That is an alert. It’s urgent. It’s serious,” McKinnon says.

McKinnon says most of the new cases are the result of intravenous needle use.

The Ministry of Health says it’s working on a strategy to help reduce the spread of HIV.