National HIV Testing Day: New Initiatives and Breakthroughs

Thirty years ago, HIV was as shocking and morbid of a subject as terminal cancer.  Today, with increasing initiatives to study, prevent and provide care for the virus, we may finally begin to see some breakthroughs.

In a press release today, honoring National HIV Testing Day, President Barack Obama shared his anticipation for the administration’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy to commit the United States to “reducing new HIV infections, increasing access to care for people living with HIV and reducing HIV-related health disparities.”

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, studies have found that more than half of the people who are infected with HIV do not yet know iIt. This is why it is so important for people to get tested regularly (usually without cost).

It won’t be long until we see results, either, since some breakthroughs in understanding the virus and how to treat it are already evident.

Dr. Fauci at the National Institutes of Health has been conducting a study that shows that the infected cells, containing provirus, can and do get eliminated from the body—once a treatment to stop the virus from spreading has taken its course—and is trying to discover why and how this happens.

Other studies, being conducted by iPrEx (also known as the Chemoprophylaxis for HIV Prevention in Men trial or the PrEP Initiative), are also showing positive results and new hopes for the future.  In 2010, iPrEx reported the effectiveness of a daily pill to treat and reduce HIV infections in people—the first study of its kind—and the numbers were staggering; reporting almost a 45 percent reduction in HIV risk overall.

The organization continues new studies this year, for Tenofovir Gel, in Africa to test its safety and effectiveness at preventing HIV and HSV-2 in women.  Their results are scheduled to be reported by the end of 2013.

With this push, and that of many other government organizations striving to better the lives of people around the world, visions of an HIV-free generation, that UNICEF believes, really do seem possible.

To locate an HIV testing site near you, text your ZIP code to “KNOWIT” (566948), visit www.HIVtest.org, or call 800-CDC-INFO. To find local HIV resources, including testing, housing, and substance abuse, family planning, and mental health services, visit the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Services Provider Locator tool.