Advances in Testing for HIV and HCV
Bernard M. Branson, MD
Director, Scientific Affairs LLC
Atlanta, GA
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Bernard Branson has been involved with HIV testing for more than 30 years. He was the lead author of CDC’s 2006 recommendations for HIV screening in health care settings and, most recently, the June 2014 HIV testing recommendations that updated the U.S. laboratory HIV testing algorithm for the first time in 25 years. He is a graduate of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and completed his post-graduate clinical training at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Dr. Branson joined the CDC in 1990 and served as Associate Director for Laboratory Diagnostics in CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention for eleven years until his retirement in October 2014. Since then, Dr. Branson has provided expert consultation, developed continuing medical education activities, and devoted his efforts to disseminating information about HIV testing and promoting the adoption of biomedical interventions (such as treatment to achieve HIV viral suppression and pre-exposure prophylaxis) that hold promise for bringing an end to the scourge of HIV.
At the completion of this educational session, learners will:
- Compare the relative sensitivity of FDA-approved HIV tests during seroconversion.
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- Describe the recommended sequence of tests for the diagnosis of HIV and active HCV infections.
- Appreciate the benefits of screening for undiagnosed HIV and HCV infections and for acute HIV infection.
- Interpret results of HIV tests that have recently received FDA approval and describe new tests on the horizon.
This PRN CME activity is funded in part by unrestricted educational grants from:
Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, Merck & Co, and ViiV Healthcare.
