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Monday
December 1
2008
10:00am ET
by Kevin
HIV Testing, Celebrating Life and World AIDS Day
Well, it has been a busy November and things are moving
at a rapid pace as we approach the end of the year. I
hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and
wish you well in your activities for World AIDS Day
2008.
I have been doing a lot of thinking about the role and importance of HIV
testing in our continued efforts to fight this virus. I recently attended the
2008 National Summit on HIV
Diagnosis, Prevention and Access to Care and had a chance to hear first hand of progress
since the 2006 release of CDC’s revised recommendations on HIV testing. I was
pleased to see some of the great energy and innovation around implementing and
promoting routine HIV testing in many parts of the country. Local medical
settings, city and county health departments, insurance companies and other
federal agencies are showing great leadership, and aligning policies and
practice to support routine HIV testing.
However, it was clear that more remains
to be done. Despite having tackled key policy, legislative, and in many areas
fiscal barriers to routine HIV testing, we have lots of work ahead of us to scale up
coverage. Too many Americans have never been HIV tested, and too many people are
testing too late in the course of their disease. Perceived or real barriers to
testing remain – including concerns about reimbursement for HIV testing; local
prioritization, leadership, and accountability; and sustaining HIV testing
activities. Two years after the implementation of the CDC revised
recommendations, we now need to dramatically accelerate steps to ensure that
more Americans know their HIV status.
Let’s not forget the urgency of this situation. There are more than 1.1
million Americans living with HIV of whom 1 in 5 is unaware of their HIV status
and nearly 1 in 2 is not in care. People who do not know they are HIV infected
are responsible for transmitting most of the more than 56,000 new HIV infections
which occur each year – the majority of whom are men who have sex with men of
all races, African Americans and Hispanics and Latinos. HIV testing is a gateway
to effective treatment and care, and those who test HIV positive benefit greatly
from the effective antiretroviral treatments and supportive services, and are able
to take proactive steps to reduce the risk of onward transmission of HIV.
In the absence of a cure for HIV, we must use all available tools at our
disposal to end this epidemic. HIV testing and linkage to care is one crucial
tool, and recent studies highlighting the importance and promise of earlier
diagnosis and treatment in getting ahead of the epidemic, should inspire us to
do more. As we pause to commemorate World AIDS Day, it is important to
acknowledge our success and to keep our focus on what still needs to be done to
end this epidemic. In so doing, today we focus on two themes: "Lead - Empower -
Deliver" in the United States and for PEPFAR, the President's plan for global
AIDS relief, "Celebrate Life." These themes work in tandem. We are
committed to keeping the promise and to celebrating the lives saved and the
healthier lives of those living with this disease. We have the tools, we have the policies, we have the test,
and we have the know-how. Let us recommit ourselves to doing more to pushing
through the barriers to bring an end to this epidemic.
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Comment Policy
Dr. Fenton,
We have a problem here in Australian as with
many other countries that people are still
passing on the virus. In large part, the
negative person is negating the alterations to
their life when they become Positive. Things
like, loss of insurance, permanency in some
positions, rejection by many organisations for a
position and the long term affects of
medications of their bodies (I have been Pos
since 1984). These issues are not promulgated by
our HIV/AIDS bodies in their advertising which
is all about using condoms and not these other
issues. They will also not describe, or indeed
illustrate, the affects of anti retroviral on
ones body over the long term. They use the
excuse that if they try this direct approach,
they will stigmatise HIV folk, but most long
termers like me, are quite relaxed about a more
aggressive warning approach. These organisations
are a disgrace in my opinion.
Regards,
Bob Newey
Port Melbourne, Australia
Received from Bob Newey, on Thursday,
December 11,
2008 at 5:30 am ET
Comment
Increasing HIV in Low Incidence Areas |
The U.S. HIV epidemic continues to evolve with
increased diagnoses being reported in cities and states
where HIV is traditionally has been more common. Earlier
this month, officials at the Idaho Department of Health
and Welfare announced that the number of HIV infections
in their state have increased by 23 percent since last
year. Over a dozen of those newly diagnosed were under
25 years of age.
Read the rest of
the blog and comments
Posted by Dr. Fenton, on Wednesday,
October 27, 2008 at 5:00 pm ET
Looking Back - Forward Thinking |
Today marks the first day of the new fiscal year for
our programs. This is a time well suited to reflection
on what we’ve accomplished and a look forward to the
year ahead. So I would like to share with you some of my
thoughts on the past, present, and future of our work.
Read the rest of
the blog and comments
Posted by Dr. Fenton, on Wednesday, October
1,
2008 at 5:00 pm ET
On Tuesday, CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding and I
participated in a Congressional hearing titled, “The
Domestic Epidemic is Worse than We Thought: A Wake-Up
Call for HIV Prevention,” held by Congressman Henry
A. Waxman. Dr. Tony Fauci, Director, National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes
of Health, took part in the hearing.
Read the rest of
the blog and comments
Posted by Dr. Fenton, on Thrusday, September
18,
2008 at 5:00 pm ET
I have been reflecting on my experiences at the
XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, which
concluded close to three weeks ago. As I walked the
conference hall, I could feel the amazing energy,
passion and commitment that this event brings together.
Once again, I was humbled and invigorated by the
selfless dedication of those committed to fighting the
global HIV pandemic.
Read the rest of
the blog and comments
Posted by Dr. Fenton, on Wednesday, September
3,
2008 at 5:00 pm ET
Last
Modified:
12/17/2008
Last Reviewed: 09/03/2008
Content Source:
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral
Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention |