Quick tests confirm HIV status |
Despite increased awareness and education about HIV, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than 180,000 people nationwide are HIV positive and unaware of it.
Michael Rajkumar, MD, a member of the Backus medical staff who specializes in infectious diseases, said safe sex is the best sex and protection needs to be used when engaging in any sexual activity.
Risky sexual behavior can cause sexually transmitted diseases. "It is important to get tested if you have risky behaviors or have used IV drugs," he said.
"We still have 40,000 new cases each year in this country and that is just the tip of the iceberg," Dr. Rajkumar said. "People don't know they have it and they pass it along to others. People need to be proactive and get tested."
Dr. Rajkumar |
Ann Hartman, RN, Infectious Disease Clinics Coordinator at Backus, said it is important for people to know their HIV status to receive the right treatment and prevent the spread of the disease. June 26 is National HIV Testing Day.
"Awareness has increased a lot in the last 10 years. Testing through our clinics has decreased because more people get it done through their doctor's office," she said. Counselors from the clinics also go to other agencies and offer testing to high risk populations.
Two types of tests: The HIV antibody test can be a blood test or done with an oral swab in the mouth. The oral swab test takes two to five minutes and then it is sent to a lab. Results are available in about a week. The rapid test can also be done by a finger stick or mouth swab and results are available in 20 minutes. If this test comes back positive, then the regular HIV antibody test is done to confirm the finding.
Retesting: Because it can take two weeks to two months for antibodies to form, people who are concerned they may have been recently exposed, but test negative, are encouraged to be tested again in three months.
Counseling: The test includes counseling before and after. It usually takes about 30 minutes beforehand for the discussion and filling out of forms.
Clinic hours: The HIV Education and Testing Site offers free, anonymous and confidential testing for ages 13 and older. The clinic is open from 5-8 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays. Appointments are required and can be made by calling 823-6343. The Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic is a walk-in clinic open Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Both clinics are at 107 Lafayette St. in Norwich. At the STD clinic, screenings for syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia are mandatory and an HIV test is optional.