Routine testing for HIV is expected to be part of a new strategy by the Bloomberg administration to stop the spread of the virus in New York City, The Post has learned.
Patients now must ask an HIV test, but the Mayoral Commission on AIDS is poised to recommend that it be a regular occurrence.
City officials are also consulting with state executives to see how doctors can incorporate voluntary HIV testing in their practices.
Under the proposal, city hospitals and clinics would also offer tests to anyone being treated.
“If everyone who is HIV-positive knew that they were infected, it would drastically reduce the spread of the disease,” Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden told The Post.
New infections in the city top 4,000 each year, despite the $210 million spent annually on prevention and treatment.
The city has 3 percent of the nation’s population but 16 percent of the HIV cases.
Currently, officials know of 88,463 New Yorkers living with the virus. In 2003, 1,033 people were diagnosed with AIDS after getting an HIV test.
“That tells you that on average, for 10 years, they were living with HIV and they didn’t know it. They didn’t take steps to protect themselves and their partners,” Frieden said.
More than two decades into the epidemic, New York remains the epicenter, with blacks and Hispanics making up the largest percentage of cases.
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Life & Death
The latest numbers on new cases of HIV in the city, compared with 2002, are:
2002 total: 4,591
Whites: 15.2%
Asians: 1.7%
Hispanics: 27.7%
Blacks: 54.8%
2003 total: 4,110
Whites: 15%
Asians: 1.7%
Hispanics: 30.4%
Blacks: 52.2%