20 October 2017

A high percentage of women recently diagnosed with HIV have previously received this diagnosis but have not undergone HIV medical care, a recent study from the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found. Renee Stein, from the United States' Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed data from 61 state and local health departments and 123 community-based organizations.

The researchers found that 48% of the 3 million CDC-funded HIV tests were administered to women, commonly women aged 20-29 years, of African American descent and living in Southern United States. Of the women living with HIV, 62% had received an HIV diagnosis prior to their most recent test but 87% of them were not in medical care at the time. "To reduce and eventually eliminate HIV infection among women in the United States, HIV testing programs need to improve early linkage to HIV medical care among HIV-positive women who are not in care, regardless of their known HIV status at the time of testing," write the authors.

Read the full article online here.