Risk of Increasing the Sudden Diagnosis of AIDS in Japan during and after the COVID-19 Outbreak

Abstract

Public health centers have played an important role in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in Japan. However, the staff members of 469 centers have been overwhelmed by the huge increase in workload, and some public health centers were obliged to temporarily stop regular HIV testing. With the halting of HIV testing during the COVID-19 crisis, the proportion of "Ikinari-AIDS" or a sudden diagnosis of AIDS without prior knowledge of the HIV infection status is expected to rise. To provide essential public health services, it is time for Japan to focus on delivering public health services beyond the existing public health centers.