HIV FIGURES SPARK ALARM

CANWOOD -- A health official is alarmed at the jump in the number of new
HIV cases in the health region over the past few months.

Usually there are two new HIV cases in the Prince Albert Parkland Health
Region in any 12-month period.

But since August, there have been six, said Dr. Leo Lanoie, medical health
officer for the region.

Even worse than the sharp increase, he said, is that five of the six are
women and they are all in the sex trade.

"That scares the hell out of me," Lanoie said.

It is a concern because prostitutes will sometimes have unprotected sex for
extra money, he said. And open communication won't take place either.

"Unfortunately, a sex trade worker will not tell her client she has HIV."

Complicating things further is all the women are involved with intravenous
drug use, Lanoie said.

Despite their better sense or conscience, a person with a drug addiction
will take part in risky behaviour such as unprotected sex in order to get
money to buy the drugs, he said.

Lanoie delivered the information Wednesday at the region's board meeting
held in Canwood, 68 kilometres northwest of Prince Albert.

He said he has heard of similar rises in the incidence rate of HIV in
Saskatoon and Regina but is uncertain of the exact numbers.

Curbing the intravenous drug use, and in turn, some of the HIV infection,
will require an attack on the demand for the drug, Lanoie said.

Efforts to attack the supply of drugs are ineffective, he said.

Many intravenous drug users have one thing in common, he said.

Work to eliminate the sexual abuse of children should pay large dividends
in reducing drug demand, he said.

The region is also currently experiencing high rates of chlamydia in young
women and high use of cocaine.

Lanoie says meeting the health care needs of the region in the area of
infectious diseases requires more funding for epidemiology, which is the
study of the incidence, distribution and control of diseases.

It is an area that has not had enough funding here in some years, he said.

"It's really hard to know how to intervene if you don't know what's
happening," said Lanoie.