HIV Dashboard - Late Diagnosis


Goal: By 2021, reduce the proportion of Texans with late diagnosis of their HIV infection to no more than 20% of annual new diagnoses.

Overall Status: On track to achieve goal

White MSM: Achieved goal early
Black MSM: Achieved goal early
Hispanic MSM: On track to achieve goal    
Black Women who have sex with men: On track to achieve goal 

Graph of Percent of HIV Diagnoses That are Late, 2006 31%, 2007 29%, 2008 28%, 2009 29%, 2010 29%, 2011 29%, 2012 28%, 2013 26%, 2014 22%, 2016 22%, Goal 20%

Graph of Percent of HIV Diagnoses That are Late, by Race/Ethnicity, Texas, 2006-2015: White MSM: 2006 27%, 2007 26%, 2008 28%, 2009 29%, 2010 27%, 2011 28%, 2012 28%, 2013 25%, 2014 20%, 2015 19%, Goal 20%; Black MSM: 2006 27%, 2007 23%, 2008 21%, 2009 23%, 2010 22%, 2011 22%, 2012 22%, 2013 20%, 2014 16%, 2015 16%, Goal 20%; Hispanic MSM: 2006 37%, 2007 35%, 2008 34%, 2009 35%, 2010 34%, 2011 35%, 2012 28%, 2013 29%, 2014 23%, 2015 23%, Goal 20%; Black Female: 2006 28%, 2007 23%, 2008 24%, 2009 22%, 2010 26%, 2011 23%, 2012 26%, 2013 22%, 2014 20%, 2015 23%, Goal 20%

Data source: Texas eHARS, 2016
Goal source: Texas HIV Plan

People can live with an HIV infection for many years before being diagnosed. Persons living with an undiagnosed HIV infection are not receiving the treatment they need to prevent progression to Stage 3 HIV (also known as AIDS). The chances of HIV transmission are higher when people are unaware of their HIV status. We can improve the health of people with HIV and reduce new transmissions if we reduce late diagnosis of HIV. 

Persons living with HIV are considered late to diagnosis if they receive a Stage 3 HIV (AIDS) diagnosis within 3 months of receiving their first HIV diagnosis. The Texas HIV Plan (PDF) has a goal of reducing the proportion of Texans with a late diagnosis of their HIV infection to no more than 20% of annual diagnoses by 2021.

We are on track to meet this goal; in 2015, only 22% of new diagnoses were late. Among groups identified as priority populations for Texas’ HIV Plan, White MSM and Black MSM have achieved the target goal. Late diagnosis in Hispanic MSM have decreased tremendously, but have not achieved the goal of <20%. Late diagnosis in Black heterosexual women is very close to meeting the goal – 20% of diagnoses in Black heterosexual women were late in 2014, but the proportion increased to 23% in 2015.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once as part of routine health care. For those with specific risk factors for HIV, CDC recommends getting tested once a year. You can find free, fast and confidential testing on the CDC website. You can read more about strategies to reduce undiagnosed and late diagnosed HIV infections in the Texas HIV Plan (PDF).