Accurate and timely diagnosis of HIV is critical for patient management and preventing transmission, and public health laboratories are actively engaged in this process. APHL works to strengthen their HIV diagnostic and surveillance capacity by producing tools, resources and training for laboratory professionals and our partners.
Contact the Infectious Diseases team: [email protected]
APHL continually monitors the HIV diagnostic landscape to provide our members the most useful information. We develop and promote HIV testing best practices and guidelines for diagnostic laboratories nationwide and support public health laboratories in the implementation of national recommendations through close collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of HIV Prevention (DHP).
APHL has supported public health laboratories performing HIV testing for decades. If you are interested in historic documents visit the ID Resources Page.
Since the 2014 HIV Laboratory Testing Algorithm, CDC has issued several technical updates and APHL has maintained guidance to assist laboratories with understanding, using and reporting results from the diagnostic algorithm.
Suggested Reporting Language for the HIV Laboratory Diagnostic Testing Algorithm
Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) and Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) are used to identify and report laboratory test results in electronic reporting systems. These codes and terms facilitate timely reporting of data to public health agencies and are particularly important for complex testing algorithms like HIV.
Established in 2012, the HIV Nucleic Acid Testing Reference Center ensures that all public health laboratories have access to HIV NAT, the critical final step in the algorithm to reconcile discordant results. Currently, Wadsworth Center’s Bloodborne Viruses Laboratory, a part of the New York State Department of Health, serves as the Reference Center.
All US public health laboratories, not currently performing this testing in-house, are eligible to submit specimens to the Reference Center. The specimens must meet the submission requirements outlined in the resource below.
To enroll or if you have questions contact [email protected]
The toolkit is designed to support health departments in their efforts to strengthen HIV, viral hepatitis, and STI testing and linkage programs.
APHL surveys public health laboratories every few
years to assess HIV and HCV testing capacities, capabilities and practices to
help understand the landscape and inform education, training and advocacy
efforts. For historic HIV and HCV survey reports:
APHL partnered with NASTAD to develop the Integrating HIV and HCV Testing Toolkit to assist public
health programs and laboratories with identifying strategies to integrate
testing at multiple levels. This toolkit and its associated slides will provide
health departments (HDs) and laboratories with current information regarding HIV
and HCV testing technologies, describe factors HDs should consider in
determining when integration of testing is beneficial and discuss how various
testing technologies and strategies for using these technologies can facilitate
integration.
Visit the APHL Training Hub to search our training materials, access courses through the APHL Learning Center, and find upcoming webinars via the Event Calendar.
