WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of its HIV
Testing Campaign, Test for Life announced today media availability for
leading experts on HIV/AIDS issues including HIV screening, trailblazing
legislation and the growing impact among minorities and women.
In September 2006, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
released revised recommendations for HIV screening that called for
voluntary opt-out screening to be included as part of routine medical care
for all persons aged 13 to 64. Across the country people living with HIV
are diagnosed too late in the course of their illness, and routine
screening can lead to earlier diagnosis of HIV-infected individuals. Prompt
diagnosis improves survival, allows people to know their status and helps
those living with HIV begin proper care and treatment earlier in the course
of the disease, when the treatment has a better chance of being effective.
California is one state leading the way in the battle against HIV.
Recently the California State Legislature passed AB 682, a bill that will
make HIV screening a part of routine medical care. This landmark action has
made California one of the first states to take major steps towards routine
screening for HIV.
The following experts are available for interviews to discuss topics
regarding HIV/AIDS and efforts to improve prevention, early diagnosis and
treatment of the disease in the United States:
Dr. Richard Frankenstein, President of the California Medical
Association:
The California Medical Association is the nation's most influential
state medical association. Dr. Frankenstein, 58, is a specialist in
pulmonary medicine and has practiced in Garden Grove, California since
1980.
Dennis deLeon, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS and Living
with AIDS:
In September 1994, Mr. deLeon was selected to become President of the
Latino Commission on AIDS, a service and advocacy program addressing
HIV/AIDS in the Latino community. In this capacity he heads a broad based
community effort to respond to the needs of Latinos infected and affected
with HIV. Under his leadership the Commission has developed a national
clearinghouse for AIDS treatment information in Spanish, a network of
religious leaders offering HIV prevention programs in Spanish-speaking
congregations, technical services that address the needs of Latino
community based organizations. He has also been instrumental in the
Commission's efforts to form AIDS Leadership Committees to mobilize the gay
Latino community, immigrants with HIV, women with HIV, New York State
inmates with AIDS and several other groups in educating the Latino
community on a range of AIDS issues.
Test for Life began in 2006 as an educational campaign of the National
Minority Quality Forum, designed to raise awareness of the importance of
routine HIV screening in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS. CDC's Revised
Recommendations for HIV Testing are essential to improving early diagnosis
of HIV and linking patients to early care and treatment of the disease. To
learn more about Test for Life, please visit our Web site:
http://www.testforlife.org.
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