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The importance of serostatus awareness in arresting the spread of HIV

The importance of serostatus awareness in arresting the spread of HIV

IAS - "In the Classical Era in Greece, pilgrims from throughout the Mediterranean region wended their way to the oracle at Delphi in order to learn their fate from the High Priestess, the Pythia. Ironically, engraved above the portal of the temple was the inscription “Know thyself.” The underlying message was that individuals had more agency than they realized, and did not need to rely on third parties to ascertain their fate.

Similarly, the foundational strategy to address the HIV epidemic is maximizing HIV serostatus awareness. Since the advent of the epidemic, more than 75 million people have been infected with the virus, with approximately half still alive. Of these, more than 10 million people, or almost one‐third, are still unaware of their HIV status. This includes many of the 1.8 million people who are newly infected each year, and also a fair number of individuals who are asymptomatic and are unaware that they carry an infection that can be treated and rendered non‐infectious to partners with adequate therapy 1. (Photo: IAS)

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