Webinar World AIDS Day: the importance of testing

 

According to the most recent data from UNAIDS, in 2022, there were around 39 million people living with HIV worldwide. Of these, 5.5 million people were unaware of their diagnosis in 2021. More than 600,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses last year. In this scenario, the diagnosis of HIV infection is important not only for the individual prognosis of people living with the virus, but also for controlling the epidemic, considering that treating most of these people, keeping their viral loads undetectable, is fundamental as a strategy to interrupt the transmission chain. Testing also participates in other aspects of combined prevention, such as those based on pre and post-exposure drug prophylaxis. World AIDS Day, as an opportunity to support people involved in this fight and improve understanding of the virus as a global public health problem, is a perfect date to disseminate relevant information on testing and prevention. In this webinar, official recommendations for the safe laboratory diagnosis of HIV infection will be addressed, as well as the role of each diagnostic strategy in the context of public health.

 

Learning Objectives