Routine HIV Screening Recommended

Abstract

benefi t from treatment. Additionally, studies show that most people who learn they’re infected take steps to protect their partners, whereas people who are unaware of their infection are estimated to account for between 50 percent and 70 percent of new sexually transmitted HIV infections. “We urgently need new approaches to reach the quarter-million Americans with HIV who do not realize they are infected,” said Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, CDC director. “People with HIV have a right to know that they are infected so they can seek treatment and The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new recommendations for health care providers that are designed to make voluntary HIV screening a routine part of medical care for all patients aged 13 to 64 years. The recommendations aim to simplify the HIV testing process in health care settings and increase early HIV diagnosis among the estimated more than 250,000 HIVpositive Americans who are unaware of their infection. The recommendations also include new measures to improve diagnosis among pregnant women and further reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission. The recommendations were published in the Sep. 22, 2006, issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Increasing the proportion of people who know their HIV status is an essential component of comprehensive HIV treatment and prevention efforts in the United States. Early diagnosis is critical in order for people with HIV to receive life-extending therapy. However, today, nearly 40 percent of people diagnosed with HIV are diagnosed within one year of infection progressing to AIDS, when it may be too late for them to fully Jennifer P. Hellwig, MS, RD, ELS Routine HIV Screening Recommended