She was still in training when it happened, and had just done a test on an HIV-positive patient. A resident at the clinic took the syringe from her.

Before it was secured, one of them moved abruptly. The unprotected needle jabbed her, leaving a dot of fresh blood to mark the spot of the stick.

“That was 20 years ago,” said Dr. Dora Anne Mills, director of Maine’s Bureau of Health.

Back then, she said, there were problems associated with HIV and AIDS testing. There was “a great deal of stigma attached” to people with AIDS, Mills recalled. Confidentiality issues were a concern, too. Some people had faced discrimination in employment, housing and otherwise when word leaked that they had had an HIV tests.

Even some people who were urged to be tested when it was learned they received potentially contaminated blood transfusions were pariahs to people who didn’t understand the disease.

But Mills said she didn’t hesitate to get tested, to make certain she hadn’t been accidentally infected with disease, a precursor to the deadly AIDS virus.

When her test came back negative, “It gave me peace of mind,” Mills said.

Today, adds Mills, there’s no reason why everyone shouldn’t be tested. She’s all in favor of a position outlined Thursday by the nation’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In it, the CDC calls for routine testing of everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 for the virus.

Knowledge gained through the tests should help keep the disease from spreading and ensure proper treatment for those who are infected.

Mills said the test requires “less than half a teaspoon” of a patient’s blood. The blood could be drawn at the same time test tubes are being taken for a cholesterol or diabetes check.

Costs, she added, should not be a factor; most HIV tests are done by labs charging between $2.50 and $8. Usually, health insurance covers the cost, she added.

And people without health insurance – or who prefer anonymity in testing – could instead choose to visit one of many free testing sites around the state.

“We’ve learned the hard way that you can’t tell from somebody’s risk factors if they have AIDS,” Mills said.

Testing, she added, is the only sure way to get that peace of mind – or treatment, if that’s what’s needed.