Skip Navigation LinksSkip Navigation Links
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Safer Healthier People
Blue White
Blue White
bottom curve
CDC Home Search Health Topics A-Z spacer spacer
spacer
Blue curve MMWR spacer
spacer
spacer

Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: mmwrq@cdc.gov. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail.

World AIDS Day --- December 1, 2006

December 1 marks the 19th observance of World AIDS Day. The theme for this year is "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise."

At the end of 2003, an estimated 1.0--1.2 million persons in the United States were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (1). Of these, an estimated 25% were unaware of their infection, underscoring a critical need to expand HIV testing (1).

To address this need, CDC has released revised recommendations for HIV testing (2). These recommendations aim to make HIV testing a routine part of medical care and to further improve rates of HIV diagnosis among pregnant women. Earlier diagnosis of HIV infection will enable more persons to receive life-saving treatment, resulting in improved health and extended life. In addition, the majority of persons who learn they have HIV infection adopt safer behaviors, thereby reducing HIV transmission to others (3). Finally, making HIV testing a routine part of medical care might help reduce the stigma that some associate with an HIV test.

Additional information is available at http://www.worldaidscampaign.info and at http://worldaidsday2006.org. Surveillance data on HIV/AIDS for 2005 will be available at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/reports/index.htm#surveillance (4).

References

  1. Glynn M, Rhodes P. Estimated HIV prevalence in the United States at the end of 2003 [Abstract T1-B1101]. Presented at the 2005 National HIV Prevention Conference, Atlanta, GA; June 12--15, 2005.
  2. CDC. Revised recommendations for HIV testing of adults, adolescents, and pregnant women in health-care settings. MMWR 2006;55(No. RR-14):1--17.
  3. Marks G, Crepaz N, Senterfitt JW, Janssen RS. Meta-analysis of high-risk sexual behavior in persons aware and unaware they are infected with HIV in the United States: implications for HIV prevention programs. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2005;39:446--53.
  4. CDC. HIV/AIDS surveillance report, 2005. Vol. 17. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2006. In press.

Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of the date of publication.

Disclaimer   All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables. An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800. Contact GPO for current prices.

**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to mmwrq@cdc.gov.

Date last reviewed: 11/29/2006

HOME  |  ABOUT MMWR  |  MMWR SEARCH  |  DOWNLOADS  |  RSSCONTACT
POLICY  |  DISCLAIMER  |  ACCESSIBILITY

Safer, Healthier People

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd, MailStop E-90, Atlanta, GA 30333, U.S.A

USA.GovDHHS

Department of Health
and Human Services