2008 Woodie Awards
HIV epidemic increasing
250,000 people currently have HIV and are unaware of it, so MTSU Student Health Services is encouraging students get tested to stop the spread of the deadly virus
Tiffany Gibson
Issue date: 10/6/08 Section: News
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Kevin Lawson, testing and training coordinator for Nashville Cares, said that young people from the ages 24 and under make up half of these cases.
"They can be straight, gay, white or black," Lawson said. "We're talking about 27,000 young people every year becoming infected with HIV"
Lawson said that the CDC now requires everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 must get an HIV test once a year as part of their routine health care.
"This is to help us decrease stigma around HIV testing, and find 250,000 Americans who are currently living with HIV, and don't know it," Lawson said.
Even though anyone is capable of catching HIV, there has been an increase in the number of women that have contracted the disease.
"Black females account for more cases than white females," Lawson said. "[But] women still account for a little less than half of the [56,300] cases."
Black women are nearly 15 times as likely to be infected with HIV as white women, and Hispanic women are four times as likely to be infected as white women, the CDC study said.
The study also found that black men are six times more likely to become infected as white men, and are nearly three times more likely as Hispanic men.
Lawson said that the reason for these statistics is because there are more viruses in the black community because people who are infected are spreading the disease to others.
With the majority of young adults from the ages 24 and under attending universities, HIV testing has become a necessity to health services on college campuses.
MTSU's Student Health Services offers several kinds of sexually transmitted disease tests, including HIV.
A rapid HIV test, which consists of a finger prick and blood sample, allows students to see their results within 15 minutes. Since this is a preliminary test, if a negative reading appears, a serum HIV test will be given to the student for an additional charge of $16.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 3
Apostle Shada Mishe
posted 10/06/08 @ 1:27 PM CST
THE CURE for HIV/AIDS.......AMBUSH
THE IDEA that AMBUSH cures AIDS
is being proven by the more than 400 individuals who have taken a dose of 60 ml three times daily for 21 days. (Continued…)
PharmacistMike
posted 10/12/08 @ 11:13 PM CST
For those students who unfortunately still have a stigma about HIV testing there is an FDA approved test for home use that can be purchased completely anonymously on line. (Continued…)
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