Seven hospitals have launched an online appointment system to give people easier access to confidential anonymous HIV/AIDS tests, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Concern over discrimination and living with the stigma of HIV/AIDS has resulted in a low testing rate, the agency said.
That prompted it to cooperate with several hospitals in 2003 to provide free anonymous tests, which are given separately from other clinical departments.
People planning to take such tests usually make an appointment by telephone or go directly to the hospital, but starting this year, they can make an appointment online at one of seven hospitals, the agency said.
Forty-one hospitals nationwide provide free anonymous HIV testing. People can also take a simple self-evaluation test anonymously on the agency’s consultation Web site — hiva.cdc.gov.tw — and make an online appointment.
CDC data showed that among the 31,036 reported cases of HIV infections last year, the one-year mortality rate for those who delayed seeking treatment was 18 percent — 11.4 times of those who did not delay in seeking medical care.
The data also showed that the delayed diagnosis rate of anonymous HIV testing is lower than non-anonymous testing.
The agency advised young people to practice safe sex, including using condoms and water-based lubricants and avoiding sex parties, having multiple sex partners or engaging in other high-risk behavior.
It said that statistics showed people aged 15 to 34 accounted for nearly 72 percent of all new HIV infections from January to last month.
The survival rate and quality of life of HIV-positive people can be enhanced with proper medical treatment, the CDC said.
The agency urged people who think they might have been exposed to HIV to get an anonymous confidential test for early diagnosis and treatment.
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