Christine Bibeau recounts having been the victim of stigmatization on several occasions also in the health sector because she is a carrier of HIV.
Photo: Christine Bibeau
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Manitoban Christine Bibeau explains that healthcare workers regularly stigmatized her for living with HIV.
During the delivery of her first child almost ten years ago, several nurses asked her how she had contracted the virus two years earlier. Some asked her if she used injection drugs or if she was a sex worker.
Ms. Bibeau says that in the hours following the birth of her son, the doctor criticized her for having given birth, claiming that she had given birth knowing that he would be HIV-positive.
In fact, none of Ms. Bibeau’s three children is HIV positive and all were born after her infection.
I got HIV positive, and it’s like every time I walk into a hospital … someone asks me about these topics. And it’s not even in a nice way, it’s accusingly, like they’re cops. It’s horrible
, she says.
Owen Black believes that there is still a lot of ignorance about HIV in society.
For people with HIV, taking medication every day helps keep the viral load so low that it becomes undetectable in their system and therefore virtually non-transmissible.
This is the case with Bibeau. He only needs one pill a day.
A lot of people in society, and perhaps in the health care system, are not aware of this
, laments Mr. Black.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, in 2018, there were just under 1,900 people living with HIV in Manitoba.
In 2021, 99 new cases are detected, 119 more were identified in 2019 and 116 new cases were diagnosed in 2020, according to a spokesperson for Manitoba Health.
Impact of COVID-19
The pandemic has affected screening services for sexually transmitted infections, which have declined.
About 10,000 fewer HIV tests were performed last year due to service disruptions compared to 2019, a provincial spokesperson said.
COVID-19 ait certainement pris une sorte d'avant-scène, le VIH se propage toujours au Manitoba et c'est une infection très évitable","text":"Bien que la COVID-19 ait certainement pris une sorte d'avant-scène, le VIH se propage toujours au Manitoba et c'est une infection très évitable"}}">While COVID-19 has certainly taken some kind of foreground, HIV is still spreading in Manitoba and it is a very preventable infection.
, indique M. Black.
One of the main modes of transmission in the province in recent years has been the injection of opioids and methamphetamine, he informs. Consumption of both has increased amid the pandemic.
The organism Nine Circles Community Health Centre suspects that HIV numbers in Manitoba could rise due to the isolation of people from prevention services.
Manitoba is currently the province that does not yet cover PrEP, a daily preventative drug for non-HIV-positive people that reduces the risk of contracting the virus by 99%, according to Mr. Black.
As of Friday, 785 people had signed a petition from the organization to Health Minister Audrey Gordon, asking her to make PrEP free for everyone.
With information from Bryce Hoye
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