CONCLUSION
The AIDS epidemic began nearly four decades ago. Since then it has claimed the lives of more than 35 million people across the globe. As of 2018, Florida ranks first among the states and the District of Columbia for the number of people living with HIV and third for the highest rates of HIV diagnosis.
The older generation of Americans is familiar with the disease and its history, but today’s younger people, having been born after the disease became controllable in the United States, may have limited awareness of it. The public no longer has a sense of urgency or importance about AIDS. However, HIV continues to spread. Many are unaware they are infected and unknowingly transmit the virus to others.
The key to controlling the epidemic is prevention. Healthcare professionals have a critical role in the screening and education of patients, families, and communities about HIV/AIDS and transmission prevention. It is essential that efforts continue to be made to increase the number of individuals undergoing testing. The State of Florida and the CDC recommend that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once as part of routine healthcare and that people with certain risk factors be tested quarterly or at least annually.
RESOURCES
AIDSinfo (U.S. DHHS)
Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline
800-FLA-AIDS (352-2437) (English)
800-545-SIDA (545-7432) (Spanish)
800-AIDS-101 (243-7101) (Haitian Creole)
888-503-7118 (TDD/TTY)
Text FLHIV or flhiv to 898211 (available when the Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline is open)
HIV/AIDS (Florida Health)
HIV/AIDS (CDC)
National Prevention Information Network (CDC)
Postexposure Prophylaxis Hotline (PEPLine)
888-448-4911
REFERENCES
NOTE: Complete URLs for references retrieved from online sources are provided in the PDF of this course.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2020). Basic statistics. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2019a). About HIV/AIDS. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2019b). HIV transmission. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov
Centers for Disease and Prevention Control (CDC). (2019c). HIV and occupational exposure. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2019d). Testing. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2019e). HIV surveillance report, 2018 (preliminary); vol. 30. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov
Florida Department of Health (FL DOH). (2020). Rule 64D-3,042: testing related to pregnancy. Retrieved from https://www.flrules.org
Florida Department of Health (FL DOH). (2019). HIV data center. Retrieved from http://www.floridahealth.gov
Florida Department of Health (FL DOH). (2018). Perinatal HIV prevention. Retrieved from http://miamidade.floridahealth.gov
Florida Department of State (FL DoS). (2020). Notice 22960499. Retrieved from https://www.flrules.org
Florida Legislature. (2020a). 2019 Florida statutes. Retrieved from http://www.leg.state.fl.us
Florida Legislature. (2020b). 2019 Florida Statutes, Title XXIX, 381.004, HIV testing. Retrieved from https://www.flsenate.gov
Gillespie S. (2019a). Diagnostic testing for HIV infection in infants and children younger than 18 months. UpToDate. Retrieved from https://www.uptodate.com
HIV.gov. (2020). U.S. statistics. Retrieved from https://www.hiv.gov
HIV.gov. (2018). Who should get tested? Retrieved from https://www.hiv.gov
Kuhar D, Henderson D, Struble K, Heneine W, Thomas V, et al. (2018). Updated U.S. Public Health Service guidelines for the management of occupational exposures to HIV and recommendations for postexposure prophylaxis. Retrieved from https://stacks.cdc.gov
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). (n.d.). Worker protections against occupational exposure to infectious diseases. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov
Royal D. (2019). Experts say Florida’s HIV epidemic is fueled by stigma, lack of access to care. Retrieved from https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu
Sax P. (2019). Acute and early HIV infection: clinical manifestations and diagnosis. UpToDate. Retrieved from https://www.uptodate.com
Silvergleid A. (2019). Risk of HIV from blood transfusion. UpToDate. Retrieved from https://www.uptodate.com
United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). (2020). HIV fact sheets. Retrieved from https://aidsinfo.nih.gov
Waseem M. (2019). Body fluid exposures. Medscape. Retrieved from https://emedicine.medscape.com
Zachary K. (2019). Management of health care personnel exposed to HIV. UpToDate. Retrieved from https://www.uptodate.com