Posted on February 04, 2014
Source: The Baltimore Sun
Many young people are not getting timely treatment for their HIV infections, and that is putting their long-term health at risk and threatening the health of their partners, a new study from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center found.
Evidence suggests early treatment can help manage the disease as a chronic condition and stave off dangerous infections and other damage.
Researchers didn’t study why but they believe young people, particularly heterosexual men and minorities, are not seeking the care immediately after they are infected, either because they don’t know they are infected or because they are purposefully waiting.
“These are decidedly disappointing findings that underscore the need to develop better ways to diagnose teens sooner and, just as importantly, to get them into care and on therapy sooner,” lead investigator Dr. Allison Agwu, an infectious disease specialist and HIV expert at the children’s center, said in a statement.
