Drug users in Prince George who then travel to other communities in the north could increase the risk of spreading HIV, according to a recently released report.
The 2012 I-Track study released this week showed many injection drug users come to Prince George as a hub community, but travel regularly throughout the region and engage in risky behaviour when visiting or living in rural areas.
"Increased residential mobility amongst [injection drug users] indicates that the HIV risks associated with injection drug use are not only isolated to Prince George, but can be found in other locations throughout B.C.," the report said.
The anonymous survey of drug users found that fewer drug users moved between communities compared with a similar study in 2008, but the rate was still high enough to indicate there is a risk of spreading HIV and other diseases like hepatitis C. Nearly one-fifth of respondents said they had lived outside of Prince George in the last six months and nearly a quarter of self-identified aboriginal participants said they lived in more than one community over the last six months.
With HIV rates among injection drug users in Prince George hovering around 16 per cent, study author and Northern Medical Program associate professor Russ Callaghan said the risk of transmission is worrisome.
"There's a concern that people that may be in these more rural and remote areas might think there's a geographical protection against HIV and those kinds of other infectious diseases like hepatitis C because they're away from the big city, they're away from Prince George or the Downtown Eastside [in Vancouver], but there's quite a bit of mobility in this population," he said.
Of those who said they visited reserves over the past six months, 25 per cent said they injected drugs while they were there and 30 per cent said they had unprotected sex.
"Based on this data, it appears that residential mobility remains an important factor to consider when planning HIV prevention efforts in First Nations communities and other communities in northern B.C.," the report concluded.
Northern BC First Nations HIV/AIDS Coalition chairwoman Emma Palmantier said the combination of people moving between communities and having unstable housing while living in Prince George is a concern for public health throughout the region.
"Because people are moving to and from cities and towns and reserves throughout northern B.C., we must take that into account in our HIV and hepatitis C prevention and treatment strategies throughout the north,” she said.
While aboriginals represented the largest demographic in the study and travel to and from reserves was highlighted in the mobility section, Callaghan cautioned that health issues around injection drug use is not limited to any one racial group.
"I don't see injection drug use being a specifically First Nations or aboriginal problem" he said. "Even though the people that participated in this study, the majority of them were aboriginal, it's a public health issue we all have to stand behind."
