Fighting HIV/AIDS One Community at a Time

Government health officails are undertaking a bold new strategy, 'test and treat', to stop the spread of AIDS by testing almost all the adults in a specific community and treating the infected. The three year study is focusing on two communties affected by AIDS; the District of Columbia and the Bronx. The purpose of the study is to test whether or not it can work in treating the disease on a national level.
As many as five percent of the people in D.C are living with AIDS, a rate paralleled to that of West Africa, and as many as half who are infected are unaware of it. Nationally, about a quater of those infected are unaware of it. However, the hardest part, according to Angela Fulwood Wood, deputy director of Family and Medical Counseling Service, is getting those who are found positive to recieve medical attention. In 2006, only half of the D.C residents newly diagonsed with AIDS recieved medical treatment for the virus within six months.
Researchers are currently meeting with health officails and medical experts in D.C. and the Bronx to make HIV testing a standardized part of routine doctors visits, clinics, and ER's. Some doctors, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have suggested having testing areas set up at non medical locations, such as WalMart.
The 'test and treat' study is just one step towards the overall goal of using medicines to prevent HIV. Medicines can also reduce the level of the virus in the blood of those already infected.
I think this 'test and treat' study is a step in the right direction towards preventing, treating, and ultimately curing the AIDS epidemic. It is high time that the government undertake this medical predictament and help the victims of the disease. I think having testing booths set up at places like WalMart is a good idea in theory, but people may be embarassed to be tested in such a public setting. However, this feeling is caused by how our society views people with AIDS; namely, they are often outcasts and treated as though they should be seperated a safe distance away from the uninfected. Although I understand where this fear might orginate, it is important to educate the public more throughly on AIDS, so that getting tested will be more routine to the upcoming generation rather than an embarassment. Also, talking to schoolchildren, especially in areas where AIDS is most prevalent, about prevention methods, i.e. condoms and birth control pills, is probably one of the most important steps the government can take towards making AIDS a thing of the past.

Here is the article:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/health/27hiv.html?hp