Anonymous tests bad for AIDS control

Beijing (CNS) – Anonymous testing for HIV adversely affects the prevention and control of AIDS, said Wang Yu on February 8, director of Chinese Center for Disease Control (CCDC), whereas real-name tests play a key role in the prevention and control of AIDS, he emphasized.

Guangxi Province recently drafted a law specifying two requirements be made for HIV tests: that they be conducted using the real name of the person who suspects they may be HIV-infected, and if found positive that person should be obliged to inform their partner or partners of their disease condition. The draft request has aroused public attention.

Wang explained that "When a hospital receives an HIV test request now, and do the check anonymously, they are unable to ensure the tested person gets the results."

According to international research cited by Wang, as long as the infected person is informed of their positive result, activity that risks sexual transmission of the disease has been shown to drop by 70 percent. Wang stressed the act of informing is an effective method of disease control, but those tested are often unreachable due to the anonymity provision, and this cripples AIDS prevention efforts.

"In the past, hospitals would start anti-virus treatments when the sufferer was showing severe symptoms such as CD4 cells in the blood having declined to a certain point," said Wang, adding "the course of treatment generally takes ten years, and during this period he or she is probably spreading the disease via sexual intercourse."

If an HIV-infected person receives anti-virus treatment immediately after the test, the study reveals that the level of the virus infection in the body drops, and the chances of transmission become significantly lower.