The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
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HIV partner notification can help patients, partners, and disease control efforts in the community. The emphasis on HIV partner notification has varied widely in the United States. Stigma, denial, and competing priorities have limited the use of partner notification in many areas. ⋯ Understanding these forces will help predict where partner notification is headed and may help make it more effective. In this paper we review partner notification for HIV, discuss effectiveness, and outline changes over time. A comparison with contact tracing for TB leads us to conclude that partner notification for HIV is very different from contact tracing for TB.
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Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. · Dec 2003
ReviewThe role of molecular epidemiology in contact investigations: a US perspective.
Preventing tuberculosis (TB) transmission through treatment of active cases and contact investigation is the highest priority of TB control programs in the United States. The role of contact investigation is becoming increasingly important as the number of TB cases declines nationally. ⋯ Molecular epidemiology has added a new dimension by enabling the recognition of unsuspected transmission, likely locations of transmission, and quantification of the extent of transmission that is occurring within a given population. In the future, as real-time genotyping becomes more available, the role of molecular epidemiology is likely to expand.