KENORA — After a local physician expressed concern about a growing rate of HIV cases in Kenora, the Northwestern Health Unit says the number of cases reported in the last nine months surpasses the combined total from the previous eight years.
Dr. Kit Young Hoon, the medical officer of health of the Northwestern Health Unit, said there have been an increase in HIV cases reported, particularly towards the end of the year.
“In 2022 there were nine confirmed cases reported to us in the Kenora area and case and contact management is ongoing and [we continue] to monitor the situation,” said Young Hoon.
While Dr. Johnny Grek, a physician in Kenora, has said there have been 15 cases of HIV in the past nine months, Young Hoon explained why there may be a discrepancy with their number of reported cases.
“We are expected to use provincial standards for reporting of case numbers and so therefore only report confirmed HIV cases [from a confirmatory blood test conducted by a lab].” she said. “[A] clinician may have additional clinical information including preliminary test results to the point of care test.”
“The bottom line is that each of HIV case numbers have increased in the area and the public should be aware of this increased risk and make efforts to protect themselves.”
HIV is a very serious illness that individuals need to be aware of, she said.
“It is a virus that can be extremely impactful on your health and it affects your immune system and destroys white blood cells and so that it increases the risk of a number of different infections.” she said. “Once people have HIV there is no actual cure. Medication [can] decrease the risk to health and to reduce the risk of spread, but it is still a lifelong illness.”
She said people can protect themselves by consistently using condoms properly and avoid sharing of needles and [other] drug preparation equipment.
“Another way of improving your health is if you think you're at risk, please contact your health care provider to get tested as soon as possible,” she said. “Early treatment can keep an individual healthy and also prevent spread to others.”
She said strategies should focus on those preventative measures.
“As a local public health unit, we’re making efforts of course to educate and inform all those who may be at risk,” she said, adding that using harm reduction equipment, such as new drug equipment and condoms are supplies people need to allow them to protect themselves.
“[It] is really important to empower individuals to know how to protect themselves and not to think that this is going to be spread through the air or through casual contact, but to make that effort to protect themselves through [these interventions].”
In a news release, Young Hoon had said the health unit had been anticipating an increase in HIV cases for about a decade due to long-standing higher rates in Thunder Bay and Manitoba.
HIV can be passed through certain bodily fluids including blood, semen, vaginal, and anal fluids, the Health Unit said in a media release.
Young Hoon said it’s important to understand the context of the situation and know the facts about HIV to dispel myths.
“We all need to be aware… how we use language and how that can lead to negative stigma for any population,” she said. “Particularly for a population that might already be experiencing negative stigma and have other social challenges.”
“We've also issued a health care provider alert so that the health care providers are aware and can therefore support their patients with testing and hopefully reach an early diagnosis and early treatment,” she said. “There are number of other health agencies that are likely looking at this closely and thinking about what’s needed.”
