There has been “reasonable progress” in the United States toward testing the majority of adults and adolescents for HIV, a goal set in 2006, said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The information released today [Nov.30] is good news. It shows that progress is possible and is being made ... but it also shows how much more progress is needed, particularly in the health care setting,” Dr. Frieden said during a teleconference. The number of adults who reported having been tested for HIV reached a record high in 2009, he said.

About 1.1 million Americans have HIV; however, for every 5 Americans, 1 does not know he or she is infected. In 2009, 82.9 million Americans aged 18-64 reported being tested for HIV – 11.4 million more than reported in 2006, according to the just-released CDC Vital Signs report. About 45% of adults reported having been tested for HIV at least once in their lives in 2009; that number had held steady at about 40% from 2001 to 2006, according to the CDC. Women were more likely than were men to have been tested (MMWR 2010;59:1-6).

The CDC recommended in 2006 that health care providers offer HIV testing as a routine part of medical care for adult and adolescent patients and suggested that those at high risk of HIV be tested at least annually.

While the new data show that some progress has been made, the fact that 55% of adults – including 28% of adults who are at high risk for HIV – have not been tested means that health care providers need to continue ramping up efforts to encourage patients to get tested.

“Because more people were tested, fewer people were diagnosed late with HIV,” Dr. Frieden said. “People who know they’re [HIV] positive can get treatment ... and also can prevent the development of AIDS.” Furthermore, “virtually all AIDS cases are preventable either by preventing HIV infection or by preventing progression of HIV to AIDS,” he said.

The CDC encourages HIV testing both inside and outside of the health care system and works with health departments and community organizations to offer testing. Widespread HIV testing is a worthwhile effort because for each infection that is prevented, more than $300,000 in lifetime medical costs is thwarted, Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Program, said during the teleconference.

The ultimate goal is to see HIV testing become routine. “We would like to see HIV testing as commonplace as cholesterol testing,” Dr. Mermin said.

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11月30日最新发布的CDC Vital Signs报告显示，2009年美国接受HIV检测的成人数量创历史新高。

约110万美国人感染HIV；然而，在每5名美国人中，就有1名不清楚自己是否感染HIV。2009年，接受HIV检测的美国人(18~64岁)数为8,290万，比2006年多1,140万。2009年，曾至少接受过1次HIV检测的成人比例约为45%；而在2001~2006年这段时期内，该比例一直稳定维持在约40%的水平。女性检测比例高于男性(MMWR 2010;59:1-6)。

美国疾病预防控制中心(CDC) 在2006年就建议医疗工作者为成年和青少年患者提供常规性的HIV检测，并建议HIV高危者每年至少接受1次检测。尽管最新数据表明检测率呈上升趋势，但是仍有55%的成人(其中28%为HIV高危者)未接受检测，这意味着医疗工作者尚需不断努力鼓励患者接受检测。

CDC主任Thomas R. Frieden博士在电话会议上表示，检测率越高，HIV诊断率就越低。HIV阳性感染者通过治疗能够预防AIDS的发生。此外，通过预防HIV感染及防止从HIV感染进展至AIDS，可预防几乎所有AIDS病例。

CDC的HIV/AIDS预防项目主任Jonathan Mermin博士在会上表示，广泛的HIV检测服务是一项划算的工作，因为每预防1例感染，就能够节省超过300,000美元的终生医疗费用。CDC鼓励在医疗保健体系内部和外部提供HIV检测，并致力于与卫生部门和社区机构共同提供检测服务，最终实现使HIV检测像胆固醇检测一样成为常规检测项目的目标。

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