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Healthy Living Blog |
Linknet-Blogs.com features a number of marketing blogs in specific areas of interest such as Marketing, Travel, Health, Business Opportunities, Product Features, Golf, Real Estate. Advertise with Linknet-Blogs.com. Get links and create a powerful online presence. CDC Recommends HIV Tests, Puts Less Stress on Condom UseMay 16, 2006 - Linknet Health News High Quality Durex Condoms - Get high quality Durex condoms Acne Product - After 7 years of suffering with acne I finally found a way to get clear and stay clear. VitaNet, Vitamins, Herbs, Nutrition - Product discussion CDC Recommends HIV Tests, Puts Less Stress on Condom Use by Rick HendershotIn a significant shift in strategy in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Centers for Disease Control recently recommended that tests for HIV be extended to all patients entering hospitals and clinics. The CDC also recommended that doctors begin offering routine voluntary HIV tests to patients between 13 and 64. This marks a departure from the previously followed strategy of testing only people in high risk categories. It is estimated that of the more than 1 million people in the U.S. with HIV and AIDS, about 25% are unaware they have HIV. The new strategy is aimed at discovering these cases before HIV develops into AIDS. It is also hoped these measures will curb the spread of the disease since these 250,000 people are carriers who unknowingly infect others. This policy change will involve a shift away from the promotion of abstinence and condom use to prevent the spread of the disease, towards more emphasis being placed on testing for HIV status and early treatment. The big difference between now and the past is that drugs now exist that can prevent the development of AIDS from HIV. Early detection can therefore result in early treatment. It is also hoped that early detection will result in less transmission of the disease. A recent CDC survey found that sexually-active adults altered their sexual behavior patterns after they were diagnosed with HIV. Drug companies and makers of oral tests stand to benefit significantly from this change of emphasis. It is expected that tests which are now administered at hospitals and clinics will soon be available over the counter. There should also be a rise in HIV treatment drugs as hundreds of thousands of people learn they have HIV and begin treatment with anti-HIV drugs. Currently anti-HIV drugs account for about -billion in sales in the U.S. That number should increase dramatically if the new testing procedures prove to be effective. Some argue that as in so many areas within the health industry, efforts aimed at prevention will be replaced by promises of a quick cure brought to us compliments of the increasingly influential and ever-invasive drug companies.
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