This means that for every 100,000 Canadians, six people became HIV positive in 2018 (incidence rate of 6 per 100,000 people). There was a small increase in the number of new HIV infections in 2018 compared with 2016, when there were an estimated 1,960 new HIV infections.

How hard is it to catch HIV?

The truth is that its not nearly that easy to get HIV – the medical literature estimates that the transmission rate is actually about 0.1% per sex act, or 10% per year. One way of interpreting these big overestimates of risks is that HIV education is working.

What are the odds of getting HIV from one time?

For example, the average risk of contracting HIV through sharing a needle one time with an HIV-positive drug user is 0.67 percent, which can also be stated as 1 in 149 or, using the ratios the CDC prefers, 67 out of 10,000 exposures.

Who is at risk for HIV in Canada?

Women* = Cis and Trans women, including African, Caribbean and black women, women who use drugs, Indigenous women, and other women who face systemic and social inequities, are more likely to be exposed to HIV through a sexual or drug using partner.