Nova Scotia sees spike in newly diagnosed HIV cases: health authority
HALIFAX — Nova Scotia has posted a significant increase in the number of new HIV infections so far this year, prompting the province’s Health Department to issue an urgent advisory warning doctors and nurses of the sudden spike in cases of the communicable disease.
In the first six months of 2018, the province recorded approximately 16 new cases of HIV — a number usually seen over the course of a year.
“The concern is that we’ve already reached what we’d expect for an entire year after six months,” Dr. Trevor Arnason, medical officer of health with the Nova Scotia Health Authority, said in an interview Thursday.
“We’re heading towards a doubling of the number of reports over the year.”