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Infectious Disease News lists top stories for National HIV Testing Day
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Today on National HIV Testing Day, recognized each year on June 27, the CDC is promoting this year’s theme, “Test Your Way. Do It Today,” to remind patients that there are more ways than ever to get tested. Whether at a clinic, local organization, health care provider’s office, testing event, or at home, the CDC is urging Americans to check their HIV status.
According to the CDC, everyone aged 13 to 64 years should be tested for HIV at least once as part of routine care, and high-risk individuals should be tested at least once a year. Men who have sex with men (MSM), however, may benefit from more frequent testing every 3 to 6 months.
In a recent MMWR, the CDC reported that people at risk for HIV infection are being tested more often than in past years. Data from CDC’s National HIV Behavioral Surveillance showed that the average time between two successive HIV tests decreased from 21.1 months in 2010 to 19.9 months in 2013 among heterosexuals; from 10.5 months in 2009 to 7.7 months in 2014 among MSM; and from 14.4 months in 2009 to 11.5 months in 2015 among injection drug users.
In another recent MMWR, however, Renee Stein, PhD, of CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention and National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, and colleagues reported that HIV testing rates remain low among teens and young adults, with only 22% of high school students who have had sexual intercourse and 33% of young adults aged 18 to 24 years being tested.
The researchers analyzed data from more than 3 million CDC-funded HIV tests provided by 61 state and local health departments and 123 community-level organizations in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2015. They found that young MSM, who accounted for 83% of new HIV diagnoses among youths tested in non–health care facilities, received just 28% of the tests.
“The results highlight the importance of HIV testing for young MSM, especially those who are African American or Hispanic, as these populations are disproportionately affected,” Stein told Infectious Disease News. “While young MSM account for most youth with HIV infection, more than half don’t know they are infected because their HIV testing rates are very low.”
Although it is essential for young MSM to undergo testing, Stein added that health care providers are often unaware that these patients are having sex with other men, and that young MSM “may be reluctant to acknowledge this.”
“Clinicians should test young men, especially those who are African American or Hispanic, for HIV whenever seeing them for medical care, whether or not the young men are known to be having sex with other men,” she said.
Additional data revealed that in 2015, 66% of youths who tested positive for HIV were linked to care within 90 days of diagnosis. According to the researchers, the 2020 national goal is to link at least 85% of newly diagnosed patients to care within 30 days.
“Increasing the number of youths at risk for HIV infection who are tested for HIV on a regular basis and ensuring that youths who receive positive tests for HIV are rapidly linked to and retained in appropriate medical care, including early initiation of ART, are essential steps for reducing HIV infection in this vulnerable population,” Stein and colleagues wrote in the report.
To mark the occasion of National HIV Testing Day, Infectious Disease News had compiled a list of the top five stories related to HIV testing over the past year.
Record levels of in-home HIV test sales linked to the ‘Charlie Sheen effect’
After actor Charlie Sheen announced that he was HIV–positive during an interview on NBC’s Today Show on Nov. 17, 2015, millions of people conducted online search queries for HIV prevention and testing, according to researchers. In a follow-up study published in Prevention Science, the same research team discovered that the impact of Sheen’s disclosure, known as the “Charlie Sheen effect,” also resulted in record levels of in-home rapid HIV test sales in the United States. Read more.
WHO releases new guidance for HIV self- testing
In November, WHO published new guidance recommending the use of HIV self-testing to increase the number of people who are aware of their HIV status. According to the organization, 40% of all people with HIV, which is estimated to be more than 14 million individuals, are unaware of their status. Many of them have a higher risk for HIV infection and cannot easily access existing testing services.
“Millions of people with HIV are still missing out on life-saving treatment, which can also prevent HIV transmission to others,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, MD, said in a press release. “HIV self-testing should open the door for many more people to know their HIV status and find out how to get treatment and access prevention services.” Read more.
Point-of-care test performed on oral fluid failed to detect HIV-1 infection
The OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV-1/2 Test, a point-of-care test able to detect HIV–specific antibodies in blood and oral fluid, frequently failed to detect HIV-1 infection in Botswana and Thailand, suggesting that negative oral fluid results should be confirmed by testing blood samples in longitudinal trials. Read more.
Researchers develop USB stick that tests for HIV
Researchers at Imperial College London and DNA Electronics developed a new type of HIV test that is performed on a USB stick. The device, which requires only a drop of blood, creates an electrical signal that can be read on a hand-held computer device in less than 30 minutes.
Although the technology is still in the early stages of development, Graham S. Cooke, MD, PhD, from the department of Medicine at Imperial College London, said in a press release that the disposable test could allow patients with HIV to regularly monitor their viral load in the same way that patients with diabetes monitor their blood sugar levels. Read more.
Q&A: Getting people tested remains top priority in US eradication of HIV
Infectious Disease News spoke with Bruce Olmscheid, MD, primary care provider and HIV specialist at One Medical Group, about current issues regarding HIV treatment and prevention in the U.S. In this interview, Olmscheid discusses the main challenges of testing those at risk for HIV, the role of a future vaccine and what can be done to eradicate the disease. Read more.
– by Stephanie Viguers
References:
CDC. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2017;doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6624a1.
CDC. National HIV Testing Day. https://www.cdc.gov/features/hivtesting/index.html. Accessed June 26, 2017.
Stein R, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2017;doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6624a2.
Disclosures: Stein reports no relevant financial disclosures.