Free HIV/AIDS Testing

By Sharon West, R. N., MSN.

It is hard to believe that it has been 15 years since one of my very best friends died from complications of AIDS. It seems like yesterday that she notified me of her diagnosis. This was a situation of a divorced female who was reintroduced to the dating scene. She, like so many others, loved and trusted her partner—without knowing the full story.

Here are some facts about that story:
• Fact: Though African Americans account for about 13% of the US
population, almost half (49%) of the HIV/AIDS cases are African
Americans. (Centers for Disease Control) In a 2004 NC study, 84 male
college students were diagnosed with HIV over a three-year period. 73 of
them were African American. 67 of the 73 were men who had sex with
other men, but did not identify themselves as either gay or bisexual. Of
those 67, 27 stated they also had sex with women.

• Fact: An African American woman is seven times as likely as a white
woman and eight times as likely as a Hispanic woman to be HIV-positive.

• Fact: AIDS rates are rising in people over age 50. In 2006, 27% of adults living with AIDS in the US were over age 50.

• Fact: The CDC estimates that 250,000 of the 1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the US are unaware of their status.
If you are sexually active (and this does not mean only vaginal sex),
get tested. It is recommended that married couples go together to get
tested. Testing should be part of your annual examination. Ask your
partner, “Have you been tested?” and review the results. If he or she
has not been tested, go together.

Vicky, a mother of three elementary school children, received her HIV
diagnosis after a routine checkup. “I didn’t think I ever had to worry
about that. I’m married, I don’t have to use protection with my husband.
I was wrong. My husband cheated on me and passed the infection along to
me.”

Tiffany was getting ready to go to college when a routine physical
revealed she had HIV. “I was numb. I really didn’t feel anything. I was
in disbelief.” Tiffany never made it to college. Soon after her
diagnosis she developed full-blown AIDS.
– www.nchealthystart.org

Need a test? Call the Buncombe Department of Health at (828) 250-5109.
There is no fee for the testing. Or call Western NC Community Health
Service at (828) 285-0622 or Western North Carolina Aids Project (WNCAP)
at (828) 252-7489 or 1-800-346-3731.