Health
CDC to Unveil New HIV Testing Campaign
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is set to unveil a new public message to promote HIV testing in HIGH Risk Cities. “Testing Makes Us Stronger”, promotos the benefits as well as importance of HIV testing will be launching in five cities next week: Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, New York and Oakland. Health officials are hoping that the implementation of this campaign will lead to increased testing and general awareness among the disease’s most affected group: black, gay or bisexual men between 18 and 29.
Studies were linked to issues concerning the increased presence of poverty and discrimination among the specified demographics. A more recent study concludes that the three groups with the highest risk of contracting HIV are gay and bisexual men with an infection rate of 19%, intravenous drug (IDU) users at 9%, and low-income heterosexuals at 2%. The study consisted of 30,000 individuals in 21 cities, with an overall infection rate of 47%. What’s even more eye opening is the fact HALF of the person’s infected didn’t know they were infected. And alarming proportions of each group reported involvement of risky conduct, such as unprotected sex and sharing needles, in the past year.
Tom Thayer
Tagged aids and drug usage, AIDS Response Effort Inc, ARE, atlanta, baltimore, bi-sexual, CDC, Center for Disease Control, drug users, gay, Gay men, HIV AIDS, HIV infections, HIV Testing, hiv transmission, HIV/AIDS testing, houston, IDU, intravenous drug users, new hiv campaign, new york, oakland, poverty and HIV, risky behavior, risky lifestyles, sharing needles, Straight, Testing makes us stronger, unprotected sex
