Carol froze in fear when her test for the AIDS virus came back positive.
"All I could see was death," the woman says. "I got angry at God. I felt He had forsaken me."
In her panic, she insisted that the man who infected her also be tested.
He did not know he had the virus.
He is not alone. Never be lonely again, even if you have HIV.
The Center for Disease Control estimates that 25 percent of the one million HIV-infected people in the United States do not know they are infected. The center also estimates they transmit up to 70 percent of all new HIV infections in the United States.
"All I could see was death," the woman says. "I got angry at God. I felt He had forsaken me."
In her panic, she insisted that the man who infected her also be tested.
He did not know he had the virus.
He is not alone. Never be lonely again, even if you have HIV.
The Center for Disease Control estimates that 25 percent of the one million HIV-infected people in the United States do not know they are infected. The center also estimates they transmit up to 70 percent of all new HIV infections in the United States.
In response, the center issued a new set of guidelines in September that recommend voluntary HIV screening as a routine part of medical care for all patients ages 13 to 64.
A leading AIDS doctor thinks routine testing makes sense but not without information to go with it.
"The problem is the CDC didn't suggest any counseling," says Frank Graziano of UW Hospital, Madison. "You can't call someone in, tell them they are positive and not counsel them. Even people who test negative need counseling to learn how they can stay negative."
Bob Power of the Madison-based AIDS Network agrees.
"There is a lot of information that people need to understand when undergoing a screening for HIV," he says. "Not having counseling to go along with an HIV test takes an educational opportunity away from patients."
The CDC said busy doctors and nurses cannot offer routine HIV tests if they have to give detailed pretest counseling.
Because HIV testing never has been routine, people who ask for the tests usually have a reason to suspect they may have been exposed to the AIDS virus.
The counseling includes safe-sex information. It warns people who test negative to improve their safe-sex behavior. And it helps prepare people who test positive for what will be a lifetime of medical care.
Diane Nelson, nursing supervisor at the Rock County Health Department, says a number of places in Rock County offers testing, including the Beloit Area Community Health Center in the old Beloit Mall and First Choice Women's Health Center on Burbank Avenue in Janesville.
The health department offers testing for populations at high risk for contracting HIV, including people who share injection drug needles or who have multiple sex partners.
The department used to have a weekly clinic on site for sexually transmitted diseases but had to discontinue it because of a staffing shortage. While the clinic was operating, almost 130 people came in for HIV tests in 2003. The number plummeted after the clinic ended.
Rock County reported 229 AIDS/HIV cases from 1983 through September 2006 and ranks sixth among counties in the state in number of reported cases.
In Wisconsin, more than 1,600 people tested positive for HIV infection between January 2000 and June 30, 2006.
Almost 40 percent were infected for quite a while and developed AIDS within a year of the date they first learned they were HIV positive, state statistics show.
Medical professionals say the findings have important health implications.
When left untreated, eight to 11 years can elapse after a person is infected with HIV until the immune system gets weak and other diseases and infections can enter the body. This stage of HIV is called AIDS.
During this time, a person can unknowingly transmit the disease to others as well as miss out on critical medical care. Early treatment can slow the progress of the disease and help a person stay healthy. People in advanced stages are less likely to respond well to HIV-fighting drugs.
Twenty years ago, a diagnosis of AIDS was a death sentence. Nowadays, new drugs and treatments are extending life spans on average more than 20 years.
"We used to lose two patients a week from AIDS," Graziano says. "Now, we are upset if we lose two a year. Since 1995, we have been able to treat the infection aggressively. At least in this country, the ability to treat HIV has made it a chronic disease for a lot of people."
At one time, HIV-infected patients took up to 50 pills a day. Some regimens today are down to one. Others are reduced to six or seven, but side effects still are a problem.
"For some, there are quality of life issues," Graziano says. "People have trouble with nausea, vomiting, bad dreams and the list goes on and on."
Some patients who were on old medicines don't do well on the new treatments.
The best medicine is still prevention.
"The challenge is getting the message out that this is a totally preventable disease," Graziano says.
"You don't have to get HIV if you do simple things."
For more information on HIV and dating, visit Positive Singles.
A leading AIDS doctor thinks routine testing makes sense but not without information to go with it.
"The problem is the CDC didn't suggest any counseling," says Frank Graziano of UW Hospital, Madison. "You can't call someone in, tell them they are positive and not counsel them. Even people who test negative need counseling to learn how they can stay negative."
Bob Power of the Madison-based AIDS Network agrees.
"There is a lot of information that people need to understand when undergoing a screening for HIV," he says. "Not having counseling to go along with an HIV test takes an educational opportunity away from patients."
The CDC said busy doctors and nurses cannot offer routine HIV tests if they have to give detailed pretest counseling.
Because HIV testing never has been routine, people who ask for the tests usually have a reason to suspect they may have been exposed to the AIDS virus.
The counseling includes safe-sex information. It warns people who test negative to improve their safe-sex behavior. And it helps prepare people who test positive for what will be a lifetime of medical care.
Diane Nelson, nursing supervisor at the Rock County Health Department, says a number of places in Rock County offers testing, including the Beloit Area Community Health Center in the old Beloit Mall and First Choice Women's Health Center on Burbank Avenue in Janesville.
The health department offers testing for populations at high risk for contracting HIV, including people who share injection drug needles or who have multiple sex partners.
The department used to have a weekly clinic on site for sexually transmitted diseases but had to discontinue it because of a staffing shortage. While the clinic was operating, almost 130 people came in for HIV tests in 2003. The number plummeted after the clinic ended.
Rock County reported 229 AIDS/HIV cases from 1983 through September 2006 and ranks sixth among counties in the state in number of reported cases.
In Wisconsin, more than 1,600 people tested positive for HIV infection between January 2000 and June 30, 2006.
Almost 40 percent were infected for quite a while and developed AIDS within a year of the date they first learned they were HIV positive, state statistics show.
Medical professionals say the findings have important health implications.
When left untreated, eight to 11 years can elapse after a person is infected with HIV until the immune system gets weak and other diseases and infections can enter the body. This stage of HIV is called AIDS.
During this time, a person can unknowingly transmit the disease to others as well as miss out on critical medical care. Early treatment can slow the progress of the disease and help a person stay healthy. People in advanced stages are less likely to respond well to HIV-fighting drugs.
Twenty years ago, a diagnosis of AIDS was a death sentence. Nowadays, new drugs and treatments are extending life spans on average more than 20 years.
"We used to lose two patients a week from AIDS," Graziano says. "Now, we are upset if we lose two a year. Since 1995, we have been able to treat the infection aggressively. At least in this country, the ability to treat HIV has made it a chronic disease for a lot of people."
At one time, HIV-infected patients took up to 50 pills a day. Some regimens today are down to one. Others are reduced to six or seven, but side effects still are a problem.
"For some, there are quality of life issues," Graziano says. "People have trouble with nausea, vomiting, bad dreams and the list goes on and on."
Some patients who were on old medicines don't do well on the new treatments.
The best medicine is still prevention.
"The challenge is getting the message out that this is a totally preventable disease," Graziano says.
"You don't have to get HIV if you do simple things."
