HIV Prevention in the United States:
Expanding the Impact
| Expanding the Impact | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today’s Epidemic |
Proven Prevention Methods |
Progress To Date |
Challenges in HIV Prevention |
Future of HIV Prevention |
Too Few People with HIV Are Aware of Their Infection
Percentage of People Who Have Ever Been Tested, Overall and By Population, 2010
(Download High Resolution Version)
(Download High Resolution Version)
CDC estimates that of the 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States, nearly one in five (about 207,600 individuals) do not know they are infected.3 Because half of new infections are transmitted by people who do not know they are infected, undiagnosed infection remains a significant factor fueling the HIV epidemic.4
HIV testing has never been quicker or easier than it is today, and more people have been tested than ever before. But fear and misperceptions can still keep people from finding out their HIV status:
- Many people, even those who engage in high-risk behavior, do not get tested because they do not believe they are at risk for HIV.5-9
- Others misunderstand the testing process, not realizing that rapid HIV tests can be done with a simple cheek swab or finger prick and provide results in as little as 20 minutes.8, 9
- Some are concerned that other people will find out that they have tested positive (or that they sought testing at all), although testing is completely confidential.5-9
- Some may avoid testing simply because they are afraid their test will be positive.5-9
Today, more than half of American adults have not yet been tested.10
