AIDS Spreading Like "Fire"

AIDS and HIV are spreading rapidly through major Canadian cities and family doctors are desperate for more money to combat the epidemic, the College of Family Physicians of Canada warned yesterday. The organization said there are about 4,000 new cases of HIV each year and an estimated 15,000 people with HIV or AIDS who are yet undiagnosed and without treatment. "Do I feel I get enough support? No," said Dr. Dominique Tessier, head of the college's committee on HIV/AIDS. "Some patients in Canada don't have the same access. Do we need more money? Yes."

In Canada, there is an alarming number of new HIV cases in people who were not considered at risk, said Tessier. "The increase is due to people who are not aware that they are infected," she said. The number of people injecting heroin and other intravenous drugs is also increasing, and so is the number of HIV cases, she added. "[HIV is] spreading like fire in cities like Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto."

According to Nina Arron, Health Canada's HIV/AIDS policy coordination and program division director, Health Canada spends $42.2 million on treatment and testing. "It demonstrates a commitment to the government that ongoing sustainable funding was needed," Arron said. "Within that, we have to be sure that each dollar is spent wisely." As of December 1999, 45,534 Canadians have been diagnosed with HIV and there have been 16,913 AIDS cases, according to Health Canada.

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