Routine HIV testing should be offered to all adults in the country and not just those known to be at risk for HIV, the nation’s premier medical journal is arguing. VCH Medical Health Officer Dr. Réka Gustafson co-authored an editorial this week in Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) along with world-renowned HIV/AIDS scientist Dr. Julio Montaner and Barbara Sibbald, a CMAJ editor.
In the editorial, Gustafson and the coauthors say that too many of those infected with HIV are diagnosed late and are unaware that their bodies are harbouring the virus. Canada has no recommendation for routine testing beyond screening pregnant women and testing the blood supply.
Most people newly diagnosed with HIV have had many missed opportunities in health care for diagnosis, and routine testing would be effective at diagnosing people with HIV and linking people to care.
Read the full editorial in CMAJ
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2012/11/26/cmaj.121810
For more information about HIV/AIDS
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