Africa: States, AIDS Experts Test Boundaries of HIV Testing

As treatments become more available, particularly in developing countries, the line between a patient's health status and right to privacy is beginning to shift. More than 2 million Africans died of AIDS last year and 3 million others were newly infected with the virus that causes the disease, yet it is estimated that in most African countries fewer than 10% of the population know their status. Testing for the human immuno-deficiency virus is one of the thorniest aspects of a health debate fraught with human rights implications.