It depends on your risks.
There is no single answer. If you’re a homosexual man who tends to have sex with strangers, that’s one case. If you’ve had one sexual partner in your entire life, it’s a different story.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests getting tested:
- all people from 13 to 64 years old;
- pregnant women at the first visit to a gynecologist and additionally in the third trimester if they are at increased risk;
- everyone who comes to be checked for other sexually transmitted diseases;
- annually for sexually active men who have sex with other men, if the man or his partner has had sexual contact with another person since the last test;
- annually for people at high risk.
What is an elevated risk? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (like most other organizations) believe that the risk is elevated in
- men who have sex with other men;
- people who have had vaginal or anal sex with an HIV-positive person;
- those who have had more than one partner since their last test;
- those who inject illegal substances and share the necessary items with other users of illegal substances;
- those who have sex for money;
- those who have been diagnosed with another sexually transmitted disease;
- those who have been diagnosed with hepatitis or tuberculosis;
- those who have had sex with someone who could report that at least one of the above items is true.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all people aged 15 to 56 (and all others at increased risk) should be tested for HIV. But the question is: at what interval should you be tested? The group suggests repeating testing if a person has risk factors. In addition to those specified by the CDC, the group also includes people who receive medical care in medical centers with many patients with HIV, as well as in correctional facilities and homeless shelters.
The British recommendation is to test people living in places where HIV is spread every year. If a person has other factors, they should be tested more often. Pregnant women are also offered a test.
The World Health Organization believes that people who have certain risk factors should be tested for HIV. The same applies to their partners. If the risk remains, they should be tested at least once a year.