HIV testing good for public health
Lewis DiuguidHIV testing already is done with cholesterol checks for people who donate blood.
But an effort is being pushed not to make the test for AIDS a routine for people age 15 to 64 on doctor visits. The Associated Press reports that the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force wants to make HIV screening part of routine checkups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sought the same since 2006.
It is a public health matter. Of the 1.1 million people in the U.S. living with HIV, about 240,000 people have no clue that they have it.
Their health is at risk and so is the health of their sex partners or persons who do other risky behaviors with the infected persons.
The rapid test costs less than $20, and results could be known in about 20 minutes. Taking the test is the right thing to do for everyone.
Suzuki Ishikawa
6 months agoBut what good would it be to test if 3rd parties can’t obtain the information?
For example, X gets tested and found to have HIV/AIDS. If X doesn’t tell Y that he has HIV/AIDS, what’s the point in testing? Sure X will have knowledge but will X tell Y that he has AIDS?
This seems like a gimmick for more testing and more medicare recovery. If we really wanted to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, we should create a national registry opened to the public. Got AIDS? your name is on the list.
In my opinion, this is the only way to stop the spread of AIDS.