The state Department of Public Health has launched a program for routine HIV testing in three Connecticut hospitals.
The program is being offered to identify and treat people who have been infected with HIV, which can develop into AIDS, state officials said.
Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, Waterbury Hospital and Yale-New Haven Hospital have been selected to begin the testing in their emergency departments for a two-year period.
Patients who want to be tested will be given a mouth swab in a private part of the emergency department. Their test results will be available in as little as 20 minutes.
State health officials said more than 56,000 people in the United States become infected with HIV each year.
