U.S. actor, Charlie Sheen’s recent announcement about his HIV status, World AIDS Day just last week, and the ongoing stories on HIV hot spots like Atlanta, GA make us realize that HIV is a persisting problem globally and in the U.S.
Affecting 1.2 million people in the U.S., with major advances in treatments and increased awareness since first appearing 35 years ago, HIV remains a challenge to healthcare providers and public health authorities. No longer the death sentence that it once was, HIV, as some experts have labelled it, is now a treatable, manageable, chronic disease. However, there is still no cure for HIV and the best way to prevent the spread of the disease, which results in about 50,000 new infections in the U.S. each year, is an HIV test. In efforts to increase awareness of status to combat the 1 in 8 HIV-infected people unaware of their infection and unknowingly spreading the disease to others, U.S. guidelines recommend an HIV test as part of routine healthcare for everyone 15-65 years old, and all pregnant women
This week MedMira launches its newest rapid HIV test in the Reveal product line. Building on the long term success of predecessor products for lab-based serum and plasma testing, the new Reveal G4 test brings whole blood applications effectively expanding the product’s utility in point-of-care settings. Recently approved by the FDA, MedMira is introducing Reveal G4 at the National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta, GA. Existing Reveal customers can easily convert their testing practices to the Reveal G4 LAB S/P format for serum/plasma testing in laboratories. Click here to read more.
Built on MedMira’s distinct Rapid Vertical Flow (RVF) Technology platform, Reveal G4 brings unrivaled speed to rapid HIV testing. Reveal G4 makes it possible to counsel, test, and deliver instant results within the same streamlined patient visit. For patients this means the anxiety of waiting is greatly reduced, with no opportunity for fear to set-in and never return for their test results. For healthcare providers this speed means higher throughput of patients with the same resources, directly impacting the bottom line and tightening budgets.
Reveal G4 is compact, easy-to-use, and designed for use where ever point-of-care testing is needed. Testing programs are increasingly being pushed out to community-based settings from the DMV to pharmacies to mobile testing vans in neighborhoods, where people can easily and conveniently get a test and find out their status. We’ve created this infographic to help you learn more about the new Reveal G4.
Broadly accessible testing is also important in serving sectors of the population which are more dramatically affected by HIV. At-risk populations cut across geographic regions, ethnicities, and lifestyles. According to the CDC, in 2013, the South accounted for 51 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in the country and 43 percent of all persons living with HIV, while comprising only 38 percent of the U.S. population. Atlanta, GA is an HIV hot spot, ranking fifth in the U.S. for new HIV infections, with many of these diagnosis coming too late with many patients already advanced from HIV to AIDS.
“Diagnosing people to get people on treatment is our best method to prevent further transmission,” said Wendy Armstrong, the director of the Ponce de Leon Center, an AIDS care facility in Atlanta, GA.