The United States government has recommended testing nearly the entire American population for HIV, because too many people with the virus don't know they have it. Under new proposals by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, everyone aged between 13 and 64 would be screened, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. An estimated 250,000 Americans with HIV don't know they have it, the CDC said. Current guidelines only call for people “at high risk” to get tested. "We urgently need new approaches to reach the quarter-million Americans with HIV who do not realise they are infected," CDC director Dr Julie Gerberding said. "People with HIV have a right to know that they are infected so they can seek treatment and take steps to protect themselves and their partners." More than one million people in the US have HIV, with around 40,000 new infections each year. Ref: Sydney Star Observer (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Sunday, 24th September 2006 - 12:00pm