HIV testing advised for all sexually active people

	Tweet

Now is the time to implement routine, not risk-based, HIV testing, according to an editorial published in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

“Establishment of routine testing for HIV infection is essential to reduce the number of persons...in the United States who are infected with HIV but are unaware of their HIV (status),” state Dr. Curt G. Beckwith from Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, and colleagues from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

The authors explain that significant numbers of persons with newly diagnosed HIV infection are diagnosed late in the course of the disease, not only worsening their prognosis but also increasing the likelihood of that they have transmitted HIV to others.

Moreover, the researchers write, current recommendations for testing are impractical, because few physicians working in the community can really know if they are working in a high-prevalence area or not.

Also, assessing patients’ risk for infection is often hampered by inaccurate information supplied by patients, the physicians suggest.

Even without these factors, health-care providers may not offer HIV testing for a variety of reasons, ranging from failure to obtain informed consent from the patient to time constraints.

The authors propose instituting a new policy in which health-care providers routinely offer HIV testing, regardless of the patient’s perceived risk. To make this workable, the authors say, counseling needs to be streamlined and rapid HIV testing implemented.

“Early diagnosis provides an opportunity for linkage to care, with the goal of preventing (AIDS-related) infections and the development of severe” immune deficiency, the researchers point out. “Early diagnosis also allows for risk-reduction counseling, which can reduce transmission of the...virus.”

HIV testing “should be performed routinely for all sexually active persons, to diagnose HIV infection and to prevent AIDS," they conclude.

SOURCE: Clinical Infectious Diseases, April 1, 2005.

RELATED STORIES:
Mobile phones keep track of HIV treatments   Death by Denial Living with AIDS   Risky sex uncommon among HIV patients   Experts warn of rising AIDS stats from East Europe   Promoting abstinence ineffective against AIDS   HIV teens taking extra risks   India’s Hetero takes AIDS drugs off WHO list   Needle exchange users take fewer HIV risks   Abuse tied to HIV risks in Native American women   Genetic Test Can Detect HIV In Newly Infected   New York warns of fast, resistant strain of HIV   S. Africa’s children risk catching HIV in hospital

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]