Age of Canadians infected with HIV dropping CMAJ 1997;156:755 © 1997 Canadian Medical Association The age of Canadians being infected with HIV is dropping and the situation among injection drug users (IDUs) is getting worse, the Bureau of HIV/AIDS at the Laboratory Centre for Disease Control reported in January. The bureau's Epi Update said 14 185 cumulative cases of AIDS had been reported through Sept. 30, 1996, but the true number is estimated to be 19 000 to 20 000 cases. The difference is attributed to delayed reporting and under-reporting. The bureau says the median age of new infection has dropped from age 32 for those infected before 1983 to 23 for those infected between 1985 and 1990. The situation facing injection drug users (IDUs) is particularly bleak, because an HIV outbreak has been reported among IDUs in Vancouver, and Montreal has one of the highest new-infection rates for IDUs in North America. Overall, up to 45 000 Canadians had been infected with HIV by the end of 1994, and in the past 5 years 2500 to 3000 new infections have been reported annually. Another 10 000 to 12 000 AIDS cases are expected by the year 2000. Send a letter to the editor responding to this article Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction au sujet de cet article | CMAJ March 15, 1997 (vol 156, no 6) / JAMC le 15 mars 1997 (vol 156, no 6) |