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The US Preventive Services Task
Force, an independent group that operates under the sponsorship of the US
Department of Health and Human Services to advise the US government and
physicians on the medical evidence for preventive health measures, has recommended
HIV tests for everyone aged 15 to 64.
The guidelines also recommend that
doctors offer HIV testing to people under 15 or over 64 if they are at high
risk for contracting HIV and that they offer HIV testing to all pregnant women.
On November 19, the task force posted its recommended guidelines to its website
for a four-week period of public comment.
The task force conducted two reviews
of the science done by independent groups of scientists: one focused on
pregnant women and one focused on HIV screening for the population at large.
Annals of Internal Medicine published the two reviews on November 19.
The recommendations would apply to
all but very-low-risk populations. In their 2005 guidelines, the task force
suggested routine HIV screening only for adolescents and adults at increased
risk. Since then, however, studies have been published that offer sound
evidence that HIV-infected individuals, as well as their intimate partners and
the public, are better served by near-universal screening.
Dr. Bernard M. Branson, an
epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a
co-writer of the CDC’s 2006 guidelines, states that every HIV infection that is
prevented saves $367,000 in lifetime medical costs. CDC’s guidelines are mainly
in agreement with the task force’s current ones, differing only in that CDC
recommends that testing begin at age 13 instead of 15. Other groups such as the
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of
Physicians, and the American Academy of Pediatrics also recommend widespread
HIV testing, with slight differences. Dr. Jeffrey D. Klausner, a professor of
medicine and infectious diseases at UCLA, notes that regardless of the
increasing endorsements, surveys show that many doctors are not performing the
tests routinely.
The panel listed its recommendations
as Grade A, meaning that there is high certainty of substantial benefit. If the
panel ultimately adopts those recommendations, Medicare and most private health
insurers would be required to pay for the tests.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
