HIV numbers spike across Manitoba

Dr. Carol Kurbis, medical officer of health, explains why HIV cases nearly doubled in the first half of 2025 and what it means for Manitobans.

Provincial health officials are sounding the alarm about a concerning spike in HIV cases in Manitoba.

According to the province, Manitoba’s HIV rates have been steadily increasing since 2019, and numbers are already trending higher this year, with 189 new diagnoses from Jan. 1 to June 30. That is nearly double the number of cases in the first six months of this year compared to last.

Particularly, the Prairie Mountain Health Region has seen a rapid increase, officials say.

“It’s quite concerning to us,” said Dr. Carol Kurbis, the province’s medical officer of health and communicable disease control.

“In Manitoba, most of the new cases of HIV have been associated with injection drug use and heterosexual sex, and that’s a little bit different than what we’re seeing in other areas of Canada.”

Kurbis said a lack of housing, substance use, mental health issues, and poverty are also factors for many Manitobans who are newly diagnosed with the virus.

To try and curb the rise, the province is pushing to raise awareness about the issue and empower more folks to ask their health-care providers for testing as part of a regular check-up.

Kurbis said there are very effective treatments that reduce the viral load in the blood to the point where the virus is not transmissible during sex and much less likely to transmit through injection drug use.

“A big part of our strategy is trying to support people who are newly diagnosed, give them lots of hope,” she said.

“We have really good, effective treatments, and really support them in taking their medication. That’s part of the prevention as well.”

- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagacé