There's a lot of bad news in Washington, D.C.'s new report on the state of HIV/AIDS in the city: Not only does the data confirm earlier estimates that 1 in 20 District residents are infected -- the highest rate in the nation -- but it also reveals that two-thirds of HIV-positive patients in D.C. learn of their diagnosis so late that they develop AIDS within one year. Looks like the city's "Know Your Status" public awareness campaign isn't quite getting the job done. Even sadder, all 36 of the D.C. children infected with HIV during the past five years contracted the disease prenatally, a tragedy that is medically preventable. If an HIV-positive expectant mother is treated with anti-retrovirals, delivers via C-section, and cuts out breast feeding, the rate of transmission between mother and baby can be reduced to 2 percent. Of course, that requires pregnant women know their status, and mandatory testing has been controversial. Five states currently require HIV tests for pregnant women, unless the patient specifically opts out. Since it's impossible to fight an epidemic without knowing who's infected -- and preventing a new generation from being born with the disease should be a priority -- D.C. should require doctors to routinely give HIV tests to pregnant women, while informing patients that they have the right to opt-out. --Dana Goldstein
