Those at High Risk for HIV Not Being Tested

According to the Department of Health and Human Services news release, people who are at high risk for contracting the HIV virus, such as drug users or those who have unprotected sex are not getting tested, which makes it nearly impossible to contain the HIV epidemic.

In the October 22nd issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, a recent study done by researchers with Duke University has found that men and women who are at high risk for contracting the HIV virus are not getting tested as they should. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that more than 1.1 million Americans alone are infected with the HIV virus, and the scary part about those numbers is that 25 percent of those 1.1 million people do not even know they are infected.

With percentages like that, keeping the virus under control is nearly impossible. However with outreach programs as well as making HIV testing a routine part of health exams, researchers believe this could fill in the gap that is out of control.

Lead researcher, Brian Wells Pence who is an infectious disease epidemiologist at Duke University's Center for Health Police states that "We found that groups that would be considered at higher risk for HIV expressed the greatest desire to get tested, and yet those groups also had the greatest gap between their desire to get tested and their actual intention to get tested," he also went on to say "Our best estimate is that those 25 percent who don't know that they are infected are responsible for more than half of new infections, because they don't know to take preventative measures,".

In the study conducted, over 146,000 health surveys were analyzed, the research team found out of those 146,000 people, those at high risk wanted to be tested for the HIV virus, but never got around to it. 27 percent of the high risk group stated they would have liked to have been tested within the year, however only 11 percent of them actually had the test done and as researchers pointed out 44 percent of those tested were only tested due to a routine medical appointment. Other than that, most of them would not have been tested.

You too should get tested if you have injected drugs or steroids or have shared any needles with someone else. If you have had any kind of unprotected sex. Which includes vaginal, anal as well as oral. You should just be tested period. There are plenty of places to go where you can be tested for free or for a small fee. This is your life we are talking about, do not take advantage of it. Visit the National HIV Testing Resources Website.

SOURCE : Many at Risk for HIV Not Being Tested
http://www.womenshealth.gov/news/english/609362.htm