Testing

Current work:

The National AIDS Trust recently held an expert seminar on primary HIV infection.  Read the report from the expert seminar.
 
The report finds conclusive evidence that symptoms of early-stage HIV infection (clinically known as 'primary HIV infection') are being commonly missed by people who are infected, by doctors and by other healthcare professionals.  The report also contains a series of recommendations that include encouraging anyone who suspects they have symptoms of primary HIV infection to seek clinical advice, making the latest testing technologies consistently available in all laboratories testing for HIV and providing healthcare workers training to recognise risks and symptoms related to primary HIV infection.

Improving HIV testing

The National AIDS Trust recently held an expert seminar to look at ways of improving HIV testing and prevention in England.  Read the report from the expert seminar

The report contains recommendations from the National AIDS Trust on encouraging increased rates of early HIV diagnosis through ethical, accessible and appropriate HIV testing.  Improving access to testing within GUM clinics, offering testing in other settings, offering a variety of methods of HIV testing and reducing the stigma around taking a test are all ways that could improve testing uptake and reduce late diagnosis.

Relatively new forms of HIV testing include rapid testing, in which people can receive their results in an hour or less, and home sampling, in which people can take a sample at home and send it away to be tested and self-testing, still illegal  in the UK, which allows people to test and find out the results at home. Find out more information about HIV testing on our Getting tested page.  Information about home sampling and self-testing is available here.

Key Resources

• Primary HIV Infection This report, the result of an expert seminar organised by NAT, finds conclusive evidence that symptoms of early-stage HIV infection (clinically known as ‘primary HIV infection’) are being commonly missed by people who are infected, by doctors and by other healthcare professionals.  And this failure to diagnose at this early stage is fuelling HIV in the UK.
  
  Updating our strategies: Report of an Expert Seminar on HIV Testing and Prevention (March 2007) -this report outlines the key discussions that took place at the expert seminar and presents the National AIDS Trust's recommendations for improving HIV prevention and testing in England.
  
• Presentations from the Expert Seminar on HIV Testing and Prevention (March 2007)  -slides of the presentations given at the seminar by Dr Valerie Delpech (HPA), Yusef Azad (NAT) and Paul Ward (THT)
  
• Blood Testing Following Criminal Incidents Where There is a Risk of Infection (2005) - the National AIDS Trust's response to a consultation on a proposal to introduce mandatory blood testing in Scotland following a criminal incident where there is a risk of infection, including HIV infection

• Home Testing Position Paper - information about home sampling and self-testing, National AIDS Trust's views and reccomendations.

To share your thoughts and experiences on HIV testing please contact Joe Murray, Policy Officer: joe.murray@nat.org.uk / 020 7814 6756.