The Test@Home HIV self-test kit is pictured in Toronto on Friday April 16, 2021. Montreal's regional public health authority reports the area recorded its highest number of new HIV diagnoses in 10 years in 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
MONTREAL – Public health officials say they recorded in 2022 the highest number of new HIV diagnoses in 10 years in the city of Montreal and its on-island suburbs.
Data shared last week shows the number of new reported HIV cases more than doubled between 2021 and 2022, to 310 from 141.
Montreal public health says the increase is possibly due, in part, to a catch-up in testing after the pandemic, when the number of HIV diagnoses fell.
The agency says the rise could also be tied to an increase in immigrants to the city from countries where the virus is endemic.
The number of new reported cases in that population jumped 394 per cent – to 158 from 32 – between 2021 and 2022.
Montreal public health says the city of Montreal and its on-island suburbs accounted for 74 per cent of Quebec’s HIV diagnoses in 2022, up from a usual proportion of around 60 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2023.
