The Case for Wider Use of Testing for HIV Infection

EIGHT years into the most serious pandemic of infectious disease in modern history, we possess the technology and resources to test for evidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection accurately and economically. Yet there has been great reluctance on the part of the federal government and medical leaders to advocate extensive use of HIV testing as a public health measure. We believe that a very strong case can be made for wider HIV testing. Most discussions of HIV testing reach a conclusion on whether testing should be encouraged, at least in populations in which the prevalence of infection with the.