Cleveland
agencies frustrated by delays in receiving HIV test results

AIDS organizations in Cleveland say they are frustrated by delays in getting HIV antibody test results back, with clients waiting days or even weeks to receive their results, The [Cleveland] Plain Dealer reports. Although rapid HIV tests are available, which produce results in about 20 minutes, the tests cost about $12 each, which makes them too expensive for many cash-strapped AIDS groups, organization officials say. Traditional HIV antibody tests cost about half that much, but results are typically not available for at least several days, and sometimes up to two weeks. With funding for HIV prevention and testing programs throughout the state dwindling, Ohio's AIDS groups are forced to rely on the cheaper tests, which they say is hurting their efforts to identify the estimated one third of HIV-positive people who are unaware they carry the virus. AIDS experts across the country say as many as one third of people who take traditional HIV antibody tests never return for their results. (Advocate.com)