BACKGROUND Current laboratory and point-of-care tests for HIV detect different analytes and use different sample types. Some have fast turnaround times (<1 hour). We investigated how HIV test choice could impact case finding by testing programs. METHODS We analyzed 21,234 consecutive HIV tests with venous blood obtained by San Francisco HIV testing programs from 2003 to 2008. For a subset, or...

BACKGROUND More than 1.2 million people in the United States are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and 3.2 million are living with hepatitis C virus (HCV). An estimated 25 % of persons living with HIV also have HCV. It is therefore of great public health importance to ensure the prompt diagnosis of both HIV and HCV in populations that have the highest prevalence of both infections...

abstract background and aims: the burden of hiv infection and disease continues to be a major global public health concern all over the world. this study was conducted to measure igg antibody against ebv viral capsid antigen (ebv-vca igg), herpes simplex type1, and 2 to determine the seroprevalence of this infection in hiv-positive population. materials and methods: a cross-sectional study betw...

Objective: The late diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and, therefore, initiation antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the advanced stages disease is still a significant problem many countries. This study aimed to define prevalence presentation and HIV among newly diagnosed infected patients. Patients Methods: medical records HIV-infected patients aged 18 over, between January...

he Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in their 1997 report The Hidden Epidemic, Confronting Sexually Transmitted Diseases, concluded that an effective national system of STD Prevention did not exist. As they discussed gaps, new approaches and collaborations, they developed the following vision statement to guide their work: “An effective...

As a population, persons with serious mental illness (SMI) have an elevated risk for HIV infection. However, relatively little is known about how the risk of HIV has affected their lives, how persons with SMI evaluate their HIV risk, and what preventive measures they undertake. Furthermore, relatively little is known about community-based HIV prevention for persons with SMI as most intervention...

A large body of research examines the relationship between HIV and drug dependence, but considerably less information is available on viral hepatitis and drug dependence. This article summarizes research indicating what drug abuse treatment programs can do to prevent their patients from acquiring HIV or hepatitis infection and to limit the consequences for patients who are already infected. Dru...

a bstract background: one of the reported obstacles to the achievement of universal access to human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) prevention, treatment, care, and support programs includes stigma and discrimination from health workers, particularly nurses. since nursing students would become future practising nurses and are most likely exposed to caring for people living with hiv/aids (pl wha) d...

We recruited 510 male sex workers (also referred as 'money boys' (MBs) and 533 other men who have sex with men (MSM) to investigate determinants of recent (last year) HIV testing in Shenzhen, China. Overall, 43% of MBs and 48% of other MSM reported having been tested for HIV in the last year. The most important determinant of testing among MBs was having multiple anal sex partners; among other ...

Background Stigmatizing attitudes among healthcare providers are an important barrier to accessing services among people living with HIV (PLHIV). This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the status and correlates of HIV-related stigma among healthcare providers in Kerman, Iran.   M...