Continued Problems with Late HIV Diagnosis and New Problems with Testing Scale-Up

Potent antiretroviral therapy has led to dramatic reductions in mortality from HIV infection. However, excess disease and death continue to plague the HIV-infected population. This residual burden is likely multifactorial, but much of it can be attributed to late HIV diagnosis [Abstract 8]. In a Washington, DC, study, almost 70% of people with AIDS received their AIDS diagnosis within 1 year of their HIV diagnosis. Blacks and Hispanics, persons older than 60, the uninsured, and those born outside the U.S. were more likely than others to have HIV and AIDS diagnosed concurrently [Abstract 543].

Identifying HIV infection early, during the acute stage, may offer the opportunity to interrupt transmission. During the past 5 years, 89 cases of acut…