The number of new cases of HIV had begun to slow down around 2013-2014 in Saskatchewan, but during the pandemic and beyond they began to rise again. Dr. Johnmark Opondo, the Communicable Disease Lead Medical Health Officer for the Saskatchewan Health Authority, says, the highest rate of transmission is from injection drug use.

However, Dr. Opondo’s message is that being diagnosed with HIV and AIDS is no longer a death sentence. It is very different from what it was in the 1980s. There are advances in treatment, where taking an anti-viral pill once a day will help keep the infection down, and more recently, there is an injectable which is taken about once a month.

Dr. Opondo believes people are nervous about getting tested, but he says it’s the best way to find the services to get healthy and testing is very accessible because you can even get a free self-test kit though SHA facilities, some community-based organizations and you can order them online. If you test positive, speak to your health care practitioner to get started on antivirals, which Dr. Opondo says will then allow you to live a healthy life, and if your viral levels are undetectable, than you aren’t able to transmit the disease to others.

He adds that getting tested for HIV is important, but then taking action on your result is also important. If you test negative, that’s good news, but understand the risk reduction advice you will be provided to maintain that negative status. Opondo says, “If you test positive, the good news is you can quickly get ramped in and placed in front of an HIV treatment provider and getting your HIV treated is really important because treatment is prevention.” You can quickly achieve an undetected anti-viral load and when you achieve that you are unable to transmit HIV to your close connections.

Click here for access to ordering the free online self-test kits

(self-testing kit picture below)