San Francisco this month will launch a two-year pilot program to identify new HIV infections soon after they occur, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. This program is the first of its kind in the U.S. and aims to reduce the number of new cases in the city by half. According to the Chronicle, about half of all new infections are thought to occur during the two to three-month period after infection, when HIV viral loads are at their highest. "The virus gets in your body and starts to replicate at a very high rate before the natural immune responses of your body start to mobilize," Mark Cloutier, CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, said.

The testing and counseling program will take place at Magnet, a community health center for men who have sex with men. Clients who report recent, high-risk behavior will be given the option of taking a viral ribonucleic acid test -- to identify an acute infection -- and will be encouraged to inform their partners…