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What is CDC doing to get more people tested for HIV?
Why does CDC recommend HIV screening for all pregnant women?
What is CDC doing to get more people tested for
HIV?
CDC is the nation's leading source for sharing information on HIV prevention, counseling, and testing. Since the beginning of the epidemic, the agency has provided recommendations and guidelines for HIV counseling and testing, as well as training and education for health care providers and the general public.
In September 2006, as part of its continuing efforts to ensure that more people get tested for HIV, CDC released the Revised Recommendations for HIV Testing of Adults, Adolescents, and Pregnant Women in Health-Care Settings.
These new Recommendations advise routine HIV testing of adults, adolescents, and pregnant women in health care settings in the United States. They also recommend reducing barriers to HIV testing.
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Why does CDC recommend HIV screening for all pregnant women?
HIV testing during pregnancy is important because antiviral therapy can improve the mother’s health and greatly lower the chance that an HIV-infected pregnant woman will pass HIV to her infant before, during, or after birth. The treatment is most effective for babies when started as early as possible during pregnancy. However, there are still great health benefits to beginning treatment even during labor or shortly after the baby is born.
CDC recommends HIV screening for all pregnant women because risk-based testing (when the health care provider offers an HIV test based on the provider’s assessment of the pregnant woman’s risk) misses many women who are infected with HIV. CDC does recommend providing information on HIV (either orally or by pamphlet) and, for women with risk factors, referrals to prevention counseling. Refer to the
Public Health Service Task Force Recommendations for Use of Antiretroviral Drugs in Pregnant HIV-1-Infected Women for Maternal Health and Interventions to Reduce Perinatal HIV-1 Transmission in the United States for more information.
HIV testing provides an opportunity for infected women to find out that they are infected and to gain access to medical treatment that may help improve their own health. It also allows them to make informed choices that can prevent transmission to their infant. For some uninfected women with risks for HIV, the prenatal care period could be an ideal opportunity for HIV prevention and subsequent behavior change to reduce risk for acquiring HIV infection. For more information, refer to the Revised Recommendations for HIV Testing of Adults, Adolescents, and Pregnant Women in Health-Care Settings.
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