From the HUFFPOST:
Estimates suggest that one-in-five people living with an HIV infection does not know it. And between 2001 and 2007, one third of people diagnosed with HIV had developed AIDS within the next 12 months — in spite of the fact that the benefits of testing and early treatment are widely known. Finding out their status so late keeping them from getting key antiretroviral therapy as soon as possible.
Left untreated, most people develop AIDS within 10 years of an HIV infection. Research has also shown that people who are unaware of their infection are three-and-a-half times more likely to transmit HIV.
Conversely, the CDC estimates that a 25-year-old who is diagnosed with HIV after seeking out testing and subsequently receives high-quality care will live 39 additional years.
There are numerous reasons why people fail to get tested. The biggest, Fitzpatrick says, is fear. People are worried about getting a diagnosis they feel will change their lives irreparably…
Click here to read the full article.
EDITOR: The biggest reason for non-detection in Lancaster is the refusal of Lancaster General Health to help fund the syringe exchange that the Urban League wanted to establish. Syringe exchanges are the best conduit for HIV / AIDS testing because they are the prime contact with addicts.
