HEALTH & SCIENCE

Public health urges earlier HIV detection

As gains against HIV plateau, advocates worry about increasing rates of new infection and delays in diagnosis, particularly for minorities.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. Aug. 27, 2001.

Significant numbers of people with HIV are diagnosed within one year of developing full-blown AIDS, according to several studies presented at this month's National HIV Prevention Conference organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This timeline for diagnosis is considered late by public health officials. "To make new progress in reducing AIDS cases and deaths, as well as new HIV infections, it is crucial to reach individuals with earlier testing, better treatment and care and prevention services that are carefully tailored to their specific needs," said Ron Valdiserri, MD, MPH, deputy director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention.

The push comes on the heels of data showing that achievements against HIV and AIDS have plateaued. A CDC study presented at the conference indicated that, for the first quarter of 2000, approximately 4,000 people died of AIDS and an additional 10,000 were diagnosed with the disease, numbers that have remained stable since mid-1998. This is in stark contrast to the significant declines in 1996 after the introduction of combination therapy.

But while the total numbers have remained stable, the percentage who are minorities has increased -- something experts say is a result of factors including reduced access to health care and therefore to testing. [...]

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