Who says the U S federal government can't do anything right? Have a look at the official AIDS website. Watch the video of President Obama and his wife get tested for AIDS in Kenya three years ago, when he was still a senator, and listen to his message for today. Check out the wealth of resources and information in easy-to-understand language on the prevention and treatment of AIDS.
Today is World AIDS Day. Go get tested. Everyone should take the test.
(((Mimi))) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDoxy, thank you. I know how much the cause of prevention and treatment of AIDS means to you.
ReplyDeleteI haven't even had time to do my own blog post yet! So I'm even more grateful to you for carrying the flag. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe've got several events lined up in Columbia today (unlike most of the rest of SC Columbia is pretty gay-friendly), plus a statewide testing program.
ReplyDeleteGrandmère, Something near and dear to my heart. Our care team lost our first Care Friends. Our last one has been doing well for years due to the advances in AIDS research.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was still working for Red Cross and attending health fairs, even though I am the BV-BC, I always lined up for my AIDS test. The Health and Safety Director and I wanted to be an example for our young volunteers. When we got our cheeks swabbed, they would line up behind us and do the same. It was a small thing to do. We never know when our actions might move someone else to act.
Sorry, why take a test if you have not used IV drugs or had unprotected sex? I was tested back in 98 when I had some health problems and my GP took a test to be sure but it involved a lot of secrecy (no names just numbers) as I worked for the Catholic church. I have not been involved in any at-risk activity since. I am all for encouraging at-risk people to take a test but encouraging everyone willy-nilly is ridiculous, it is like going back to the bad old days when people thought they could catch it off a bus seat.
ReplyDeleteBrian--the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new HIV testing guidelines in 2006. Those guidelines call for ALL Americans between the ages of 13-64 to be tested as part of routine healthcare. HIV tests would be done in the same way that you get a complete blood count or a cholesterol check when you have your annual physical.
ReplyDeleteThe reasons for that are:
1)We have approximately 250,000 people in this country who are HIV-positive and don't know it. They are the ones who are primarily responsible for passing on the 56,000 new U.S. infections each year--in honest ignorance of their condition. If we could find them, we could cut the HIV incidence rate dramatically, AND get them into care sooner--which would improve THEIR health and longevity too. (Too many people are not diagnosed with HIV infection until they are already close to death.)
2) We want to "normalize" HIV testing. One reason people don't get tested is because of the stigma. They are afraid someone will find out they took the test and make assumptions about why they took it. Or they are afraid they will take the test and get a bad result. If EVERYONE takes the test, then it takes a good bit of the fear and stigma out of it.
Stigma is one of our greatest challenges in fighting HIV. Universal testing is one way of battling it. We can certainly discuss whether this is the best use of healthcare resources--in fact, the CDC has recently recommended 13-64 testing in high incidence areas, rather than across the board. But the fact remains--people will continue to inadvertently pass on the virus unless they know they are positive, and people who ARE positive won't get the treatment they need until they know their status. This is not about trying to scare people--it's about trying to save lives.
Hope that helps!
Doxy
Doxy, you said it better than I could have. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI just found the Australian national HIV testing policy.
ReplyDeleteIt says:
The incidence of HIV is very low where there is an absence of recognised risk factors.
In people without a clear history of risk or clinical indications of HIV infection, there is no basis for systematically or routinely offering testing. A small number of people will request a test but will not disclose risk factors. In this case, a person’s preference not to disclose risk factors should be recognised and HIV testing should be conducted.A small number of people will present repeatedly for HIV tests with no risk factors
displayed; this behaviour should be addressed through appropriate discussion.
Individual factors should play a role in the discussion between doctor and patient, as
well as in the decision whether or not to proceed with an HIV test.
I do not move in gay circles here in Australia and have never told my current doctor of my sexuality. HIV testing is never mentioned in the over 60's groups with whom I socialise.
Brian, I'll say what I was going to say before Doxy explained so beautifully. I believe it's a good thing for people to give the example of being tested, even if they are at low risk of being infected, in order that the test may come to be viewed as routine, and there will be no stigma attached to having the test or requesting the test.
ReplyDeleteHIV testing is never mentioned in the over 60's groups with whom I socialise.
ReplyDeleteThis concerns a lot of public health folks. An estimated 17% of Americans who were diagnosed with HIV in 2007 were age 50 or older. Older people rarely think they are at risk for HIV and they are past childbearing, so they don't use condoms.
It doesn't help that doctors assume that older people don't have sex (or do drugs). Questions about sexual activity/drug use ought to be standard for ALL patients. That's just good medical care.
Pax,
Doxy