HIV Testing Should Be Routine in U.S., Editorial Says
To address the "lethal ignorance" of the approximately 25% of HIV-positive people in the U.S. who are unaware that they are positive, CDC "will recommend more and broader [HIV] testing this summer," a Boston Globe editorial says. Routine testing "would seem an obvious choice," because antiretroviral drugs have made HIV/AIDS a "treatable" disease, and according to CDC, HIV-positive people who know their status are more "motivat[ed]" to change their behavior, which could prevent further HIV transmission, according to the editorial. Both of these factors "til[t] the balance in favor of more routine testing," the editorial says. The editorial concludes that CDC's proposed recommendations for routine HIV testing "should help ensure that the effort to prevent and treat [HIV/AIDS] gets the priority it deserves" (Boston Globe, 6/20).
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