HIV Testing Critical to Reducing New Infections

A three-year initiative to test 2.8 million Americans for Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) expanded access to testing in 25 United States areas most affected by the virus.

The program cost US$111 million and resulted in the diagnosis of 18,432 people who were unaware of their HIV status.

The effort, which was sponsored by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta, GA, USA), ran from October 2007 through September 2010 and helped state and local health departments support routine HIV testing in a variety of health care locations. A main focus was blacks, who are among the US populations most severely affected by HIV.

Although thirty years have passed since the CDC first reported AIDS-like disease, continuing to raise awareness about HIV and encouraging people to be tested remain important public health goals. Illinois Department of Public Health director Dr. Damon T. Arnold said, "On the 30th anniversary of the awareness of the disease, it remains critically important for people to get tested, know their HIV status, and be knowledgeable about their lives and health."

CDC currently funds 30 areas to reach populations at a higher risk for HIV, including African-Americans, gay, and bisexual men, Latinos, and injection drug users. The CDC launched its expanded testing to support 2006 recommendations for HIV testing to become a routine part of health care for adolescents and adults.

The three-year initiative's focus on testing African-Americans was successful, the centers reported. Hospital emergency rooms, STD clinics, and community-based organizations were three important types of venues in which testing occurred. Chicago was one of the 25 jurisdictions featured in the initiative.

Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and tuberculosis (TB) prevention, was quoted as saying in a recent CDC news release. "These results demonstrate that the nation is making steady progress toward that vision. But more than half of US adults aged 18 to 64 still have never been tested for HIV, and our work is far from over."

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US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention