MB Civic

By David Brown | Friday, September 22, 2006 | The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/21/AR2006092100868.html

A new CDC recommendation recommends no longer requiring written consent or compulsory counseling before HIV testing. This signals a huge change in the attitude of the nation regarding the 25 year old, worsening, global pandemic of HIV-AIDS. The new universal testing program in the US is one part of a major effort to address three important problems:

First, 250,000 Americans are infected with HIV and do not know it.

Second, 40 percent of infected people are diagnosed when their infection is already at an advanced stage.

Finally, the number of new infections annually in the United States has not declined in 15 years – despite widespread condom distribution programs and needle exchange programs – something many of us in “AIDS Biz” view as a disgraceful failure of public health education…BS