Acquired immune deficiency syndrome in Canada: the first 5 years of surveillance.

In the first 5 years of surveillance of reports of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Canada, from February 1982, the Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, Ottawa, was notified of 1133 cases reported through provincial ministries of health that met the case definition developed by the US Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta. Most cases (82.2%) were reported from the homosexual/bisexual risk group. Other risk groups were less frequently represented, in contrast to the experience in the United States, where a higher proportion of cases in drug abusers has been observed, and in Africa, where heterosexual spread is far more common. The presenting clinical picture and length of survival after diagnosis were similar to those reported for other countries. Differences between projected estimates of the number of AIDS cases obtained with polynomial and logistic growth models emphasize the need for solid epidemiologic data on the number of people infected with human immunodeficiency virus, the rates of transmission and the rates of progression to disease.