HIV Testing for Everyone? Experts Say Yes
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ABC News Radio(WASHINGTON) — About 1.2 million people in the U.S. are HIV-positive. And about one in five of them doesn’t know it.
In an effort to broaden the front in the war on AIDS, experts now says almost everyone should be tested for the AIDS virus — probably including you.
Those who don’t know they are infected are believed to transmit about 20,000 new cases of AIDS each year.
The U.S. Preventive Services task force now recommends that all people ages 15 to 65 get tested for AIDS. Those younger or older who have increased risk factors should also be screened, according to the task force’s new recommendations.
Risk factors include:
- unprotected sex with multiple partners
- any partner with HIV
- any injection drug use, and
- exchanging sex for money
The task force also says that all pregnant women should be tested for the HIV virus.
Earlier diagnosis means earlier treatment, and that means sharp reductions in the spread of AIDS and in AIDS-related deaths.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio