HIV Tests

• Although HIV testing has increased in the US in the past few years, more people still need to get tested.
• Many Americans are not getting tested for HIV as often as they should.
• People with HIV need to be tested and treated earlier in their infection.

CDC Recommends:

• Adults and adolescents get tested for HIV.
• People at increased risk get an HIV test at least every year.
• Women get an HIV test each time they are pregnant.
• Treatment for HIV is most effective before symptoms develop. It can do much to slow the infection that leads to AIDS and death Without treatment a person infected with HIV will develop AIDS in about 10 years. With early treatment a 25-year-old adult can survive on average 39 more years
• .In 2007, nearly one-third (32%) of the people found with HIV were diagnosed late. This means that they likely had HIV for a long time without knowing it because they developed AIDS soon (less than one year) after their HIV test. Meanwhile, they may have infected others before they knew they were infected.
• Young people aged 18-24 have similar rates of HIV infection as other age groups, yet they are less likely to have ever been tested for HIV.
• African Americans made up more than half of people found to have HIV in 2008. Yet, only about 3 in 5 African Americans reported that they have ever been tested.
• Gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk of getting HIV. They made up more than 55% of the people found to have HIV in 2008 in the US.
• CDC recommends that MSM get an HIV test at least once a year. But a 2008 study in 21 major US cities found that about 40% of MSM had not been tested in the past year.
• In 2006, about 40% of Americans aged 18-64 reported that they had been tested for HIV at some time in their lives. By 2009, that percentage grew to 45%.About 40% of men and 50% of women aged 18-64 reported that they had been tested.
• Too many people have never been tested for HIV Some people need to be tested more often than others because they are at greater risk.

 Get Tested at
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