Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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New York Times (12.16.04) - Thursday, December 16, 2004
Carol Pogash
One-fourth of people with HIV/AIDS in the United States are unaware of their condition, CDC estimates. "Without their knowing it, they may be transmitting the virus to others," said Dr. Ronald O. Valdiserri, CDC's director of HIV/AIDS prevention program. "Use of the rapid tests is key to the success of these efforts."
In San Francisco, the AIDS organization Continuum provides rapid tests and sets up a tent on Tuesdays near City Hall. Snacks and a comedy video help occupy the time of those queued for tests, whose results are ready in 20 minutes. Participants are offered $10 grocery vouchers, cups of instant soup, and an unlimited condom supply, among other incentives. Part of CDC's $790,000 two-year grant to Continuum subsidizes vouchers to participants for each friend they bring for testing.
Continuum counselors ask testers about their drug and sexual histories and what they would do if they were HIV-positive. Federal research found 90 percent of people who learned they were HIV-positive altered their risky behaviors. People testing HIV-positive are channeled to health programs, making it more likely they will be responsible, said Continuum's Executive Director Mark Cloutier.
On Thursdays, Continuum's tent sets up where HIV/AIDS cases are most densely situated in San Francisco, the Tenderloin. Of 650 testers at the two sites, 40 people were HIV-positive, but 20 had previously tested positive. Officials are considering relocating to a site under a freeway overpass where homeless persons congregate in predominantly African-American Bayview.
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