Connecticut’s public health laboratory will be expanding its testing services to offer comprehensive HIV testing services for free, the state Department of Public Health (DPH) has announced.
The Katherine A. Kelly State Public Health Laboratory currently performs HIV antibody and antigen testing. The expanded panel will include additional CD4 T-cell count, and viral load testing, two markers used to monitor response to treatment, according to DPH.
In the next several months, the lab also plans to add HIV resistance testing through genomic sequencing, which will allow doctors to select effective antiretroviral therapy regimens for HIV patients, DPH said.
The new testing, free to patients, will eliminate financial barriers and increase access to this testing, said DPH Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino.
The lab performs 7,300 HIV antibody and antigen screenings annually, according to Dr. Jafar Razeq, lab director.
