| |||||||||
August 2, 2008Higher HIV infection estimate shows need for routine screening, more funding for care |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected soon to increase the estimate of new HIV infections in the United States by 40 percent. This highlights the need to make HIV testing a routine part of medical care and provide better funding to care for those who test positive, according to the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA). "The fact that more people in the United States are infected with HIV every year than previously thought shows that we need to be working much harder to control the epidemic in the United States," said HIVMA Chair Arlene Bardeguez, MD, MPH, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. CDC has published guidelines recommending HIV screening in emergency rooms, public health clinics, regular doctor visits, and other routine interactions with the health care system. "The United States can be proud of having more than tripled its remarkable commitment to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic," said Daniel R. Kuritzkes, MD, past chair of HIVMA and director of AIDS research at Harvard University's Brigham and Women's Hospital. "These new figures from the CDC demonstrate that the domestic epidemic needs a similar response. We call on the federal government to renew its commitment to prevention, care, and research into the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States." HIVMA is the professional home for more than 3,600 physicians, scientists and other health care professionals dedicated to the field of HIV/AIDS. Nested within the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), HIVMA promotes quality in HIV care and advocates policies that ensure a comprehensive and humane response to the AIDS pandemic informed by science and social justice.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
