HIV cases rise
20% in Canada

New HIV cases in Canada have risen 20% during the past five years, with gay and bisexual men accounting for about 45% of all new HIV diagnoses in the country, according to a report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. The Toronto Star reports that about 30% of the new HIV cases were acquired through heterosexual sex, and that about one quarter of all new infections are occurring among women, up from about 10% a decade ago. About 25% of the country's new HIV cases were reported among injection-drug users. Aileen Carroll, federal minister of international cooperation, says poverty, drug use, and increased sexual risk taking are the main factors fueling the increase in infections across the country. "When you consider how readily available information is to young people, when you consider how readily available are means to protect, it's very disconcerting to see how risk taking continues," she told a news conference. (Advocate.com)