To Test or Not to Test: The Value of Routine Testing for Antibodies to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (From AIDS and Substance Abuse, P 21-28, 1988, Larry Siegel, ed., -- See NCJ-119722)

• NCJ Number: 119725
• Author(s): B Stimmel
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Haworth Press, Inc
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Of all the controversies in medicine, none has aroused more emotion than the subject of routine testing for infection with HIV.

Abstract

The Public Health Service has clearly recommended that intravenous drug abusers be routinely counseled and tested for HIV antibody. Of the three techniques available to document the presence of HIV infection, the only method relevant to routine screening is detection of HIV-specific antibodies produced by an individual's immune system in response to the presence of the virus, such as the ELISA test. One of the most frequently voiced arguments against routine testing for antibodies to HIV is that knowledge of antibody positivity is relatively useless, as nothing can be done to prevent the development of the disease and there is no known therapeutic care. The issue of confidentiality is also a compelling argument against routine testing. The one area in which there seems to be universal agreement is the need for an intensive, effective, and broad-based counseling program to educate persons concerning the nature of HIV testing as well as the significance of the results that are obtained. 1 table, 13 notes.