The median time from infection to AIDS diagnosis now exceeds 10 years. AIDS is fatal. Although these epidemics spread at different rates, the social factors and conditions which lead to the spread are similar. The virus itself changes quickly, mutating, creating new strains which present challenges in detection, prevention and treatment. No cure or vaccine exists.
New treatments are very costly and it is too soon to measure their full effect.
The first case of AIDS in Canada was reported in 1982. Thanks to improved drug and therapy programs, the reported number of AIDS cases in Canada since 1995 in Canada has been steadily declining. At the same time, there are disturbing new trends. Since 1996, the epidemic has shifted again. According to national HIV estimates produced by Health Canada, about 4,200 new infections occurred in Canada in both 1996 and 1999, but the composition of these new infections was quite different between the two years.