International Herald Tribune Editorial - Routine testing for AIDS
International Herald Tribune Editorial - Routine testing for AIDS
Copyright by The International Herald Tribune
Published: September 25, 2006
U.S. health officials took the right step last week when they recommended that all teenagers and adults up to the age of 64 be tested for the AIDS virus when they receive routine medical care. This welcome effort to remove barriers in the way of widespread testing offers the best hope to reduce the stubborn persistence of HIV in the American population.
It is a public health scandal that about 40,000 Americans are still newly infected each year; that a quarter of those with the disease, or 250,000 Americans, do not even know they are infected; and that more than 40 percent of those who find out they are infected are tested only because they are already seriously ill. Surely it would be better for every infected individual to learn of his status as early as possible so as to plan the best course of treatment and avoid spreading the infection. And surely it would be better if hidden chains of transmission could be detected and interrupted to slow the spread of infection.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issued the new recommendations, urged that testing remain voluntary. Its most controversial proposal was that patients no longer be counseled extensively in advance about the pros and cons of testing and asked to sign a separate consent form. A similar policy has greatly reduced the infection rate in newborn children. It is time to apply that approach more broadly.
Copyright by The International Herald Tribune
Published: September 25, 2006
U.S. health officials took the right step last week when they recommended that all teenagers and adults up to the age of 64 be tested for the AIDS virus when they receive routine medical care. This welcome effort to remove barriers in the way of widespread testing offers the best hope to reduce the stubborn persistence of HIV in the American population.
It is a public health scandal that about 40,000 Americans are still newly infected each year; that a quarter of those with the disease, or 250,000 Americans, do not even know they are infected; and that more than 40 percent of those who find out they are infected are tested only because they are already seriously ill. Surely it would be better for every infected individual to learn of his status as early as possible so as to plan the best course of treatment and avoid spreading the infection. And surely it would be better if hidden chains of transmission could be detected and interrupted to slow the spread of infection.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issued the new recommendations, urged that testing remain voluntary. Its most controversial proposal was that patients no longer be counseled extensively in advance about the pros and cons of testing and asked to sign a separate consent form. A similar policy has greatly reduced the infection rate in newborn children. It is time to apply that approach more broadly.
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 9:41 AM
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