HIV screening in the United States

HIV screening in the United States is the use of tests to determine HIV status of individuals, as a part of general public health strategies to reduce the rate of transmission of HIV/AIDS in the United States and to lead to treatment of HIV positive individuals.[1][2][3][4] As a public health measure, widespread testing is advocated by some. Programs such as the National HIV Testing Day on June 27 are used to promote it. The respected New England Journal of Medicine endorsed widespread testing in 2013.[5] There are special challenges in reaching teenagers.[6]

Numerous areas have offered free and rapid HIV testing to the public, including Atlanta, Georgia on World AIDS Day, December 1.[7]

National HIV Testing Day

The National HIV Testing Day on June 27 is organized annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's AIDS.GOV program.[8] Walgreens is one corporate sponsor, and offers free HIV testing on that day at a number of its drugstore locations, in fact in 140 cities in 2014.[9][10]

The day has been an event since 1995, when it was organized by the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA).[11]

Over-the-counter testing

In 2012 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it had approved the first, over-the-counter (OTC) sale of home HIV test kits that do not require sending sample to a lab.[12][13] The Pennsylvania-based Orasure Company holds the patent and monopoly on the oral swab technology.[14] The FDA guidelines state that anyone 17 years of age can purchase a kit without medical training or requirement to disclose results to local medical authorities. Neither a doctor's prescription nor a parent's permission is required.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "HIV Testing in the United States". Kaiser Family Foundation. May 2, 2014.
  2. ↑ "HIV Testing in the United States" (PDF). CDC.
  3. ↑ "HIV Testing Trends in the United States 2000-2011" (PDF). CDC. January 2013.
  4. ↑ "Large U.S. study shows which HIV tests are most accurate". AIDSMAP.COM.
  5. ↑ Ronald Bayer, Ph.D., and Gerald M. Oppenheimer, Ph.D., M.P.H. (March 7, 2013). "Routine HIV Testing, Public Health, and the USPSTF — An End to the Debate" (368). pp. 881–884.
  6. ↑ "HIV and Adolescents: Guidance for HIV Testing and Counselling and Care for Adolescents Living with HIV: Recommendations for a Public Health Approach and Considerations for Policy-Makers and Managers. ANNEX 12: Adolescent HIV testing and counselling: a review of the literature". National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
  7. ↑ "Free rapid HIV testing, counseling on Dec. 1". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 21, 2014.
  8. ↑ "National HIV Testing Day". AIDS.GOV.
  9. ↑ "Walgreens HIV testing".
  10. ↑ "Free Testing at Select Walgreens for National HIV Testing Day".
  11. ↑ "National HIV Testing Day is June 27, 2014". Minnesota Department of Health.
  12. ↑ Paddock, Catharine (July 5, 2012) "HIV Home Test Kit Approved By FDA". Medical News Today. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "First Rapid Home-Use HIV Kit Approved for Self-Testing". U.S. FDA.
  14. ↑ OraSure Technologies, Inc. Fact Sheet. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "Oraquick: Taking the Test: Before You Begin". 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
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