CDC's new strategies on HIV - Infection Control Update

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced new strategies aimed at reducing new HIV infections. After having declined for several years, the number of reported infections rose between 1999 and 2001. The initiative includes making testing for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus a routine part of medical care; creating new models for diagnosing HIV infections outside medical settings; preventing new infections by working with people diagnosed with HIV and their partners; and further decreasing mother-to-child HIV transmission by incorporating HIV testing in the routine battery of prenatal tests.

The CDC previously has targeted its HIV prevention efforts at people at risk for becoming infected by providing funding for programs aimed at reducing sexual and drug-using risk behavior It said communities have recognized the need for new strategies for combating the epidemic, adding that recent U.S. approval of a simple rapid HIV test creates an opportunity to overcome some of the traditional barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of infected persons. The agency said implementing the strategies would require extensive involvement and coordination among a broad range of federal agencies, non-governmental providers and professional organizations. Details of the initiative are made available in the April 18 edition of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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