How often are HIV tests required for active reserve and national guard forces on duty?

Answer 1

Per AR 600-100, testing is done on the blood of all donors, those with suspicious illnesses and those considered in high risk groups ("signs and/or symptoms compatible with or suggesting HIV infection, such as unexplained ymphadenopathy (enlarged lymph nodes), unexplained lymphopenia or leukopenia depressed white cell count), neurological disease, adult oral candidiasis (thrush), evidence of opportunistic infections (includes pneumocystis pneumonia, Candida sophagitis, and so forth"), patients with other STD's, blood transfusion and blood product recipients, the sexual partners of those of any of these groups, IV drug users, and family members and dependents.

Soldiers will be tested at minimum biennially, with the following priority:

(1) Soldiers and military units assigned, or pending assignment, to areas of the world where a moderate to high risk exists of contracting serious tropical infections, such as yellow fever, malaria, and dengue. Such areas include Central America, South America, the Caribbean, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Malaysia, Central Africa, East Africa, and Southwest Asia.

(2) Soldiers or units pending assignment or deployment to areas of the world where medical support will be limited. Included are assignments to remote areas where periodic evaluation of persons and monitoring of health will be difficult such as Korea and the Far East.

(3) Units with contingency plans to deploy on short notice to areas of the world

described in (1) and (2) above. Included are alert forces who must be deployed in 30 days or less and all personnel scheduled to participate in OCONUS exercises who have not been screened within 24 months of the

projected deployment date.

(4) .Other military units that could be deployed OCONUS and OCONUS Army

forces in Europe, Korea, and Japan.

(5) All other units.

(6) All soldiers in conjunction with periodic physicals or any other scheduled medical examinations.

In addition, the following will be tested:

(1) All persons admitted to Army hospitals, except those who have been tested during the preceding 12 months or who are excluded by the attending physician because the patient has negligible risk (for example, most pediatric patients less than IS years of age). Newborn infant hospital admissions may be excluded if there is documentation that the mother had a, negative HIV antibody test during pregnancy.

(2) All patients who present at STD clinics.

(3) All pregnant women at the time of their initial prenatal evaluation and at the

time of delivery, if the mother has been identified as being at high risk. Testing in the first trimester of pregnancy is ideal because of the greater than 50 percent probability that children of HIV positive mothers will also be infected.

(4) All persons enrolled in drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs (Tracks II (individual counseling) or III (short term residential rehabilitation)).

(5) Complete (as opposed to regional or walk-in symptom focused) physical examinations in adults 15 years of age and older should routinely include an HIV antibody screening test unless the test has been done during the preceding 12 months. This category includes premarital examinations performed

under the provisions of AR 608-61.

(6) MTF commanders may institute screening of patients scheduled for outpatient invasive procedures if resources are determined to be available. Dental treatment facility (DTP) commanders may institute screening of dental outpatients scheduled for oral surgery when resources are available.

(7) All patients presenting in emergency rooms with evidence of trauma, such as

shootings, stabbings, IV drug use, and rape.

(8) All persons with acute or chronic hepatitis B infection.

(9) All persons who are dead on arrival or who die in emergency rooms.