The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is now recommending that all patients between 13 and 64 be tested for HIV, as a part of routine medical screenings. The rationale here is the fact that early detection (especially before coming down with AIDS) is the key to the most successful treatment combined with the fact that a large portion of those who are infected with HIV don't know they have it.
However, this testing should still be limited to those who are at risk. I see no need to waste time and money testing people who do not practice unsafe sex, are not IV-drug users, and have not received blood transfusions or accidental body fluid transfers from others. Those who are at risk know who they are and should be honest and responsible enough to get tested regularly.
Parents of children and teens who might be at risk should be responsible for getting them tested. Besides, testing people who are not at risk entails a completely new risk in and of itself. That's the risk of false positive results which would be very frightening as well as stigmatizing for no good reason.
It's a shame that medical authorities such as the CDC have bought into modern political correctness. This is the kind of political correctness that is quite evident in those preachy, so-called public service announcements which warn that HIV/AIDS is everyone's problem. In one way, they are right. We are all subject to the possible need for a blood transfusion or accidental transfer of body fluid with someone who is HIV-positive at some time in our life. In addition, children are often born with HIV, obviously through no fault of their own.
However, what these announcements never point out is the fact that a return to some good old fashioned morality would greatly reduce the risk of HIV for everyone. This is not a matter of being judgmental; it's a matter of being practical. People weren't meant to live like animals or inject certain drugs into their bodies. When they do, the natural consequences follow. But don't hold your breath while waiting to hear that from any government agency.
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