Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Editorial
. 2021 Dec 31;3(6):356-357.
doi: 10.35772/ghm.2021.01103.

HIV testing in COVID-19 pandemic and beyond in Japan

Shinichi Oka  1
Affiliations
Editorial

HIV testing in COVID-19 pandemic and beyond in Japan

Shinichi Oka. Glob Health Med. .

Abstract

In Japan, HIV testing has been offered anonymously and free-of-charge at local public health centers, together with pre- and post-test counseling since 1993. Since then, the number of HIV tests increased steadily to reach a peak in 2008 but has since decreased by 30% during the last decade. The number of tests further decreased in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and steeply by 50% this year compared with the previous year, mostly due to a shift in the workload at these centers to COVID-19-related services. To deal with this decline and thinking beyond the current pandemic, more options for HIV testing are needed, such as self-testing/postal delivery of dried blood spot specimen, a method that is yet to be approved in Japan, in addition to the conventional plasma/serum-based HIV testing.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; HIV testing; dried blood spot; postal service; self-testing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author has no conflicts of interest to disclose.

References

    1. The Japanese Society for AIDS Research. Guideline for diagnosis of HIV-1/2 infection 2020. https://jaids.jp/wpsystem/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/guideline2020.pdf (accessed July 27, 2021). (in Japanese) .
    1. AIDS Prevention Information Network, Japan Foundation for AIDS Prevention. Number of HIV testing in local health centers, annual report for trends in AIDS. https://api-net.jfap.or.jp/status/japan/index.html (accessed July 28, 2021). (in Japanese) .
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site. FDA-approved HIV tests. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/testing/laboratorytests.html (accessed July 28, 2021).
    1. Luo W, Davis G, Li L, Shriver MK, Mei J, Styer LM, Parker MM, Smith A, Paz-Bailey G, Ethridge S, Wesolowski L, Owen SM, Masciotra S. Evaluation of dried blood spot protocols with the Bio-Rad GS HIV Combo Ag/Ab EIA and Geenius™ HIV 1/2 Supplemental Assay. J Clin Virol. 2017; 91:84-89. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Saag MS. HIV infection - screening, diagnosis, and treatment. N Engl J Med. 2021; 384:2131-2143. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources