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Even though most people understand that untreated HIV infection can be life threatening, studies consistently show that many individuals who know they are HIV infected disengage from medical care. This statistic has become more concerning now that treatment-as-prevention efforts are under way.
Using CD4-cell counts and viral load reports in a New York City HIV surveillance registry as a proxy for medical care, researchers identified 797 patients who had initiated care following diagnosis but had apparently been lost to follow-up (defined as having no laboratory results for ≥9 months) between July 2008 and December 2010. Of the 684 patients who could be located, 229 (33%) were actually enrolled in care, but 409 (60%) were confirmed to have di…