Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - Thursday, December 24, 1998
The CDC said the survey, released Wednesday, underscores the need to continue government funding for anonymous HIV testing, even as the agency asks states to start keeping names of people who get treated for the virus that causes AIDS.
Earlier this month, the CDC published new recommendations in which it asked all states to begin reporting HIV cases either with the person's name or an identifying code.
The CDC says the information will help health officials track HIV cases before they become full-blown AIDS. But some AIDS activists believe privacy concerns will steer some people away from being tested at all.
The CDC surveyed 556 people in nine states in late 1995 and 1996 who were considered at high risk for HIV but said they had not been tested. They included homosexuals, intravenous drug users and heterosexuals recruited from clinics for sexually transmitted diseases.
Nineteen percent said not wanting their names reported was one reason they had not been tested. Only 2 percent said it was their main reason.
Gay men living in states that already report names were more concerned about privacy. Thirty-five percent of that group said name reporting was one reason they avoided testing.
Still, the CDC found the most common reason for not getting tested was that people were afraid of learning they were HIV-positive.
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