New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that after years of decline, the number of HIV infections in the United States has pleateaued. New infections have stabilized, prompting the CDC to issue a call “for immediate action” on the part of healthcare providers, regardless of setting, to be more proactive in preventing HIV. The CDC’s report, Ending the Epidemic: A Plan for America, breaks down its recommendations into four steps:
- Protect people at risk for HIV using proven prevention approaches such as preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
- Diagnose HIV as early as possible after infection
- Treat HIV rapidly and effectively to achieve sustained viral suppression
- Respond rapidly to growing HIV clusters to stop new infections
The report, which tracks infection data from 2010 to 2016, notes that the incidence of HIV infection began to level off in 2013, at about 39,000 infections per year. The goal of the new program is to reduce HIV infections by 90% over 10 years. The March issue of JUCM, live on our website today, features an article on the role urgent care can play in preventing HIV infection in high-risk individuals. Read Initiating PrEP Services in Urgent Care here.