By Julie Steenhuysen An influential U.S. panel has called for
routine HIV screening for all Americans aged 15 to 65, a change
that could help reduce some of the stigma about getting tested
for the sexually transmitted infection that causes AIDS. The
draft recommendations, released on Monday by the U.S. Preventive
Services Task Force, a government-backed group of doctors and
scientists, also called for routine HIV testing for all pregnant
women. "The prior recommendations were for screening high-risk
adults and adolescents," said task force member Dr Douglas Owens
who is a medical professor at Stanford University. "The current
recommendation is for screening everyone, regardless of their
risk," said Owens, who is also affiliated with the Veterans
Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System in California. Nearly 1.2
million people in the United States are infected with HIV, yet
20 to 25 percent of them do not know it. "This marks a
monumental shift in how HIV in the United States can be
prevented, diagnosed and treate