WHO’s new guidelines on HIV testing

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued new recommendations to help countries reach 8.1 million people living with HIV. It includes those who are yet to be diagnosed. The new “WHO consolidated guidelines on HIV testing services” recommends a range of innovative approaches to respond to contemporary needs. It is responding to changing HIV epidemics with high proportions of people already tested and treated. It is encouraging all countries to adopt a standard HIV testing strategy which uses three consecutive reactive tests to provide an HIV positive diagnosis. Previously, most high burden countries were using two successive tests. The new approach can help countries achieve maximum accuracy in HIV testing. The organisation also recommends social network-based HIV testing to reach high risk populations.