US Health Panel Recommends Routine HIV Testing

 An independent panel of U.S. health experts is recommending that all Americans between the ages of 15 and 65 be routinely screened for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.  The HIV test would not be mandatory¹.  But experts hope more widespread testing might reduce some of the stigma² attached to getting screened for the sexually transmitted disease. And they believe it could lead to earlier treatment for those who test positive for HIV, and further slow the spread of this potentially lethal³ infection. 

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1.2 million Americans are living with the AIDS virus and every year, the number of HIV-infected individuals increases by about 45,000.  Public health specialists say that about 25 percent of infected people do not know they are carrying the virus.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government-backed advisory⁴ panel made up of 16 doctors and scientists, is urging that everyone between 15 and 65 years of age be offered an HIV test. 

Carlos Del Rio, who is not a member of the health panel, is co-director of the Emory Center for AIDS Research in Atlanta, Georgia. He says early screening is important for two reasons:

“People [who undergo screening] are less likely to progress to disease and, as importantly, are people who are less likely to transmit to others.  So starting therapy early leads to better disease outcomes," said Del Rio.

Experts say early detection - when patients' immune systems are still relatively⁵ intact  - increases the odds⁶ that they will live longer and not spread the virus to others.

In 2005, the Task Force had recommended HIV testing for adults at high risk for becoming infected, including those who had unprotected sex with multiple partners and those who were intravenous drug abusers. Now, for the first time, Del Rio says, the HIV test would be offered as an early screening tool rather than a diagnostic test late in the disease process when patients go to their doctors with a list of health complaints.

As with any other screening test, Del Rio says this one would be voluntary.

“So if you don’t want to be tested, you don’t need to be tested.  I mean if I go to my clinician [and he] says, hey, you know the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force suggests we get an HIV testing, and I say I really don’t want that, you don’t need to get it," he said. "This is not ordering mandatory testing, right?"

Before making their new screening recommendation, the task force members agreed that the tests have to be accurate, treatment for the AIDS virus must be readily available and, importantly, the benefits of testing must outweigh⁷ any harm to those taking the test.

A description of the voluntary HIV testing recommendation is published in The Annals of Internal Medicine.  

1 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

2 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

3 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

4 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

7 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。