The diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a life-altering moment that comes with some really big decisions to make.  One of the most important of those decisions is the course of medical treatment to take.

History has clearly revealed that taking HIV drug therapies prolong the time it takes for the HIV infection to develop into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).  History has also shown that longer life and better quality of that life are more likely when HIV treatment is begun immediately after diagnosis.

Unfortunately, many Americans who have the infection haven’t been tested and don’t yet know about it.  While they go untested, they also go untreated, meaning valuable time is being lost as their health and longevity become compromised.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report earlier today that says the centers estimate one million cases of HIV in the US in 2003 although 25% of the people estimated to be infected have never been tested.  If testing proved HIV-positive status, medical intervention could be started at once, increasing the patient’s chance of long-term survival.

Many people, however, wait too late to get tested.  In 2005, 38% of all AIDS diagnoses came within just one year after testing positive for HIV.  Treating AIDS is much more difficult than treating HIV.

Some statistics gleaned from today’s CDC report include:

• 71.5 million American adults (18 to 64 years old), or 40.4% of that population, have never been tested for HIV
• In 2006, 17.8 million Americans, or 10.4%, said they were HIV-tested during the previous year
• 82.6% of that 17.8 million Americans were tested in a clinical setting
• 53.2% were tested in health maintenance organization (HMO) facilities or in private doctors’ offices
• 17.6% were tested in an emergency department (ED), hospital, or outpatient clinic
• 16.7% got tested in a publicly funded facility
• 60.7% of all pregnant women in 2006 had been tested for HIV during the previous year but only 12.8% of the women who were not pregnant got tested during that time\
• In 1987, only 6% of the population had ever been tested for HIV;but
• By 2006, 40% of the population had been tested.

Many blood donors assume they are being tested for HIV with each donation but the CDC says these blood screenings are not the same as an HIV test.

In September 2006, the CDC recommended routine HIV testing for all patients between the ages of 13 and 64 in order to get the earliest diagnoses possible.

Source: CDC