VICTORIA – Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall has released new HIV testing guidelines for health-care providers in B.C. to encourage all British Columbian adults to get tested.
The guidelines – the first of their kind in Canada – build on B.C.’s aggressive fight against HIV/AIDS and recommend that HIV testing be part of the regular tests offered to adult patients. This will help more British Columbians infected with HIV be diagnosed earlier and get them the life-saving treatment they need.
“British Columbia’s reputation as a global leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS is growing because of the development of innovative programs and guidelines like these,” said Health Minister Terry Lake. “Dr. Kendall’s guidelines will help remove the stigma some associate with HIV as B.C. continues to set a standard for care and treatment of this disease.”
At present, only pregnant women are routinely offered HIV testing – a program that has virtually eliminated HIV transmission from mother to child in British Columbia.
The new HIV testing guidelines recommend that practitioners offer an HIV test:
- Routinely, every five years, for all patients aged 18 to 70 years.
- Routinely, every year, for all patients aged 18 – 70 who belong to populations with a higher burden of HIV infections.
- Once at age 70 or older if the patients’ HIV status is not known.
And, offer an HIV test to patients including adults 18 – 70, youth and the elderly, whenever:
- They present with a new or worsening medical condition that warrants laboratory investigation.
- They present with symptoms of HIV infection or advanced HIV disease.
- They or their providers identify a risk for HIV acquisition.
- They request an HIV test.
- They are pregnant.
“The new guidelines are similar to recommendations made by expert bodies in the USA, U.K. and France,” said Dr. Kendall. “They are evidence-based and were written by an expert panel of B.C. doctors from a number of clinical specialties.”
Ministry of Health
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