More than one million Americans are living with HIV and approximately one in five don't know it. Everyone should be tested for HIV and those at increased risk should be tested at least annually.

An HIV Test Can Save Your Life

• CDC recommends routine HIV testing in healthcare settings.
• Everyone should be tested for HIV.
• Others at increased risk (such as those with multiple or HIV-infected partners) should get tested at least annually.

HIV Testing is Key to Ending the U.S. Epidemic

• To stop the spread of HIV, it's critical to test and diagnose everyone who is infected, and to connect them to medical care and support. This will improve their health and help them prevent transmission to others.
• More than 200,000 Americans are living with HIV but don't know it (1 in 5 of those infected).

Can't Be Complacent about HIV – Still a Serious and Deadly Disease

• Nearly 30 years into the epidemic, there are still more than 56,000 new HIV infections and 14,000 AIDS deaths in the U.S. each year. More than 1 million Americans are currently living with the virus.
  • The impact of HIV is most severe among gay and bisexual men, African Americans and Latinos.
  • Stigma of HIV still hinders efforts to fight the virus because it prevents many people from accessing prevention services and getting tested and treated.

Testing Across Groups

This issue of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vital Signs on HIV and AIDS includes direct calls to action for:

• The US Government to promote programs and policies that work to reduce complacency and stigma as well as encourage increased testing. Additionally, the Government is asked to provide states and communities with information and tools to put into practice prevention strategies that work.
• States and community leaders to promote evidence-based policies and develop programs to prevent HIV from spreading.
• Doctors, nurses, and other health care providers to screen patients for HIV as part of standard care and use brief interventions and motivational interviewing techniques to reduce the spread of HIV.
• All people to choose to take action by taking the HIV test. This will enable them to know their status and to actively promote HIV prevention methods among their loved ones.