Como promover y facilitar el diagnóstico precoz de la infección por el VIH-1

Human Inmunodeficiency Virus type 1 infection (HIV-1) was reported in 1981 and quickly became a pandemic and the most frequent cause of mortality among people between 20 and 40 years. The introduction of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) back in 1996 was associated with a dramatic reduction in mortality and the majority of HIV-1 infected patients have now a life expectancy approaching the general population of similar age and gender with a relatively good quality of life. Conversely, most of the preventive policies and measures have failed and what may be even worse is that in Western Europe for every two known HIV cases there is one unknown (33%). This 33% of not yet diagnosed HIV infections contribute to an excess of HIV-1 transmissions (60-70% of the total). Moreover, these patients with a late diagnosis will not benefit from the advantages of an early treatment. In the USA, to promote early diagnosis of the HIV-1 infection the recommendation is universal testing each time a sexually active person contacts with the health system. In Europe, initiatives like “ HIV in Europe” or “HIV in Spain 2009” recommended a screening policy based on the presence of indicator situations or events where the estimated prevalence of HIV-1 infection is above 1%.