Taking the test
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat. An HIV test is a test worth taking. It will let people know if they have been infected, it can lead to earlier treatment, and it can reduce the risk of infecting others. A quarter of people who carry the virus that causes AIDS don’t know they are infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says testing of people between the ages of 13 and 64 should be routine. There are different types of tests. Dr. Bernie Branson of the CDC: "Some doctors might use a rapid test; results from rapid tests are available in just 10 to 20 minutes. They can be done with a finger-stick blood sample or even an oral swab from inside the mouth. Other doctors may choose to take a small amount of blood from your arm and send it to the lab with other blood work for a conventional HIV test." (19 seconds) Learn more at www.hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss. Last revised: January, 18 2007 | 
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