Active-duty Airmen will test for HIV every two years

  • Published
  • By G.W. Pomeroy
  • Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs
BOLLING AIR FORCE BASE, D.C. (AFPN) --  Beginning June 1, all active-duty Airmen will be required to complete routine human immunodeficiency virus testing every two years. This is a Defense Department policy change geared toward standardizing testing across the services, officials said.

The policy, recommended by members of the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board, will also require Reserve and Guard Airmen called to active duty for 30 or more days to have a current HIV test within two years of the date called.

Since the Defense Department began testing in the mid-1980s, each military service has had its own HIV-testing program. Testing intervals varied by service -- from one to five years -- and procedures were inconsistent, board officials said.

The two-year interval provides the best protection from the hazards associated with military service for HIV-infected servicemembers, board officials said.

HIV testing identifies servicemembers who are infected as early as possible so military health-care providers can treat them to reduce transmission. The screenings also preclude deployment overseas and other risks that may be associated with military service for those who are infected.

Within the Air Force, screenings preferably will occur during an Airman’s preventive health assessments, said Maj. (Dr.) Mylene Huynh, a preventive medicine officer at Air Force Medical Service headquarters here.

Routine interval testing does not preclude HIV screening for reasons such as testing before drug or alcohol treatment, incarceration, occupational exposure clinical indications or at an Airman’s requests, Dr. Huynh said.

She also said that HIV testing will remain available for all servicemembers upon request without inquiring as to the reason for the test.

Under the policy, active-duty Airmen are no longer required to undergo an HIV test before moving overseas or within 12 months of a consecutive overseas tour, Dr. Huynh said.

In 2003, there were 43 HIV-positive cases identified among 335,000 tests on Airmen, said officials at the Air Force Institute for Operational Health at Brooks City-Base, Texas. This included 26 among 259,000 active-duty, 10 of 35,000 Reserve and 7 of 41,000 Guard Airmen tested.