Sensitive test spots newest HIV infections

By testing for HIV's genetic material in addition to antibodies against the virus in more than 3,000 people, Dr. Sheldon R. Morris of the University of California, San Diego and his colleagues identified 15 HIV-infected patients who the standard test would have missed.

In the first few days after becoming infected with HIV a person has extremely high amounts of the virus in the blood, meaning he or she can transmit the virus to others much more readily, Morris and his team note in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Fanning HIV fear fosters discrimination

The recent arrest of a man with HIV for allegedly infecting at least one woman has revealed the extent to which this virus still engenders exceptional fear in the community. It has also unmasked the eagerness of some media to fan this fear.

More than 25 years ago Australians were warned by their government about the risks of unprotected sex and the importance of using condoms: a cool-headed response in the context of much media hysteria.