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STI updates are blog posts from the BCCDC or our community partners about a variety of sexual health topics. These include program updates, clinical practice changes, new research, events, and more. We will not clutter your inbox with frequent emails, and your email address will not be used for any other purposes.
July 28, 2025 by Dahn Jeong (1), Stanley Wong (2), Mohammad Ehsanul Karim (1,3), Amee R. Manges (1,2), Jean Damascene Makuza (1), Héctor Alexander Velásquez García (1,2), Prince Asumadu Adu (1,2), Mawuena Binka (1,2), Amanda Yu (2), Sofia R. Bartlett (1,2), Mel Krajden (2,4), Naveed Zafar Janjua (1,2,3) Affiliations: 1. School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada 2. British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC, Canada 3. Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada 4. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Background and importance Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection extends far beyond liver-related complications, triggering chronic systemic inflammation that leads to extrahepatic manifestations including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, neurocognitive disorders, and kidney dysfunction. The majority of patients with chronic HCV infection develop one or more of these serious conditions, significantly impacting their long-term…
December 13, 2022 by Monica Durigon, Nurse Educator, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
What is an HIV self-test? Point of Care (POC) HIV tests, also known as “rapid” HIV tests, screen for HIV antibodies. The first POC HIV test approved by Health Canada is the INSTI® Rapid HIV Test, which has been used in clinics and health care settings for many years. In November 2020, it was approved…
February 9, 2018 by Aaron Purdie, Mental Health Program Manager, Health Initiative for Men
The idea of counselling can be intimidating for many people. However, talking to someone and having their expert perspective can often lead to positive changes of mood, improvement in physical symptoms and a shift in understanding of relationships with oneself and others. Services at HIM Counselling with the Health Initiative for Men (HIM) can provide…
February 19, 2016 by BCCDC
On Tuesday, March 1st (10:00 AM PST), Drs. Mark Gilbert and Daniel Grace will give a webinar on “Implementing the ‘early’ HIV test in Vancouver: from acute diagnosis to undetectable identity”. Topic What is the impact of “early” HIV testing and diagnosis on the lives of gay men? From 2009 to 2013, the CIHR Team in…
February 20, 2015 by Daniel Grace, PhD, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, and Mark Gilbert, Director, Applied Epidemiology Unit, Ontario HIV Treatment Network
Background People with newly-acquired HIV experience very high viral loads in the first two months after infection, and are more infectious during this period called acute HIV infection (AHI). We set out to learn about gay men’s experiences of being diagnosed with an acute or recent HIV infection. Participants were asked to talk about when…