One Step Closer to 'The Vaccine'

A few weeks ago, a brief essay entitled "The Ultimate AIDS Nightmare" was published here. The other day, the dark, collective fantasy on which it is based took another surrealistic turn, and the nightmare became far less a literary diversion than even I imagined when I wrote it.

"May 5, 2006 – The CDC will recommend at least one HIV test for everyone aged 13 to 64 who visits a doctor.

The radical change to HIV testing guidelines will be released in June or July, says Kevin Fenton, MD, Ph.D., the new director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention. Routine HIV tests in doctors' offices and clinics will no longer require the pretest counseling now a part of all HIV testing.

Fenton, joined by former CDC AIDS chief James Curran, MD, MPH, now dean of Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, spoke today at a news conference marking the 25th anniversary of the AIDS pandemic.

"Most HIV is transmitted by the 25% of infected people who do not even realize they are infected," Fenton said. "We need to dramatically expand access to HIV testing by making it a routine aspect of clinical care."

Just like the coming military campaign against Iran, you can't say you weren't warned.

May 10, 2006