233,000 Americans don't know they have HIV

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Some 1.1 million people in the United States are infected with HIV and nearly 233,000 are unaware of their infection, a forum on HIV research said Thursday.

Major barriers still stand in the way of making testing for the human immunodeficiency virus the norm, despite the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation of routine HIV testing of people age 13 to 64.

The Forum for Collaborative HIV Research is holding a two-day National Summit on HIV Diagnosis, Prevention and Access to Care in Washington.

HIV is a virus that can lead to AIDS, which causes the human immune system to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections.

More than one in five people with HIV remain unaware of their status and fail to get life-extending medical help, and many infected people unknowingly spread the virus, contributing more than a third of new infections, experts at the forum said.

The summit brings together some 300 leading HIV researchers, healthcare providers and policymakers to examine the state of the "neglected" U.S. HIV epidemic and the critical role of routine HIV testing.

Testing barriers will be identified and a national plan of action will be presented, organizers said.