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Chapter1: Testing

Testing: Introduction
Nearly 45,000 people are diagnosed with HIV yearly. Almost a third of these were infected by an undiagnosed person. The only way to know for sure whether or not you have HIV is to get tested. This is the first step in protecting one's health and reducing the spread of HIV.  At least one routine screening is recommended for adults, adolescents and pregnant women in health care settings. Persons with risk factors should be screened at least yearly and sexually active gay and bisexual men every 3-6 months.

HIV antibody testing has been available since 1985.  It has been the primary method used for general screening, though currently combination antibody/ antigen tests are recommended. It is believed that as many as 30% of persons with HIV infection are currently unaware of the fact that they have become infected until they begin to experience specific symptoms of the infection.   Current CDC prevention goals are to reduce that number to just 5%.  One of the goals of the CDC initiative is to ensure that every HIV infected person has the opportunity to be tested and has access to state-of-the-art medical care and prevention services.

To reach that goal we must insure that there are adequate resources providing voluntary testing and counseling services, that correct information is provided concerning risks and resources, and that attitudes of false security (continuing to practice high risk behaviors due to a previous negative test) and invincibility are addressed.