NATIONAL HIV TESTING DAY OBSERVED IN PENNSYLVANIA
HARRISBURG, JUNE 27 – During a news conference in Harrisburg today, state Sen. Connie Williams drew attention to a growing health problem in Pennsylvania -- HIV/AIDS.
Williams -- who sponsored a resolution (S.R. 134) recognizing June 27th as National HIV Testing Day in Pennsylvania -- talked about removing the barriers that prevent people from being tested for HIV.
“HIV is a virus – it is not a character flaw and it is not an editorial on who you are as a person,” Williams said. “The sooner we recognize this and begin to knock down the barriers to testing – the stigma, lack of knowledge and fear – the sooner we will gain control over the disease.”
According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a million Americans are living with the virus that causes AIDS, and more than one-quarter of the people living with HIV have not been diagnosed.
AIDS affects both genders, every race and every age group. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of HIV/AIDS cases among women. According to the CDC, the proportion of all AIDS cases reported among adolescent and adult women in the United States has more than tripled since 1986.
In the early 1980s, AIDS was primarily diagnosed in men, but the disease has since become more prevalent among women. In 2001, it became the fourth leading cause of death among U.S. women between the ages of 35 and 44, and is the leading cause of death among African-American women between the ages of 25 and 34. African-American women represent two-thirds of all new HIV infections among adult and adolescent females.
Additional research from the CDC has shown that a large population of young people are not concerned about becoming infected with HIV, which points to the need for accurate, age-appropriate information about HIV infection and AIDS.
Finally, income plays a significant role in the number of cases. The CDC has found a direct relationship between higher AIDS incidence and lower income.
Pennsylvania made the top-10 list of states and territories reporting the highest number of AIDS cases in 2003. Pennsylvania ranked sixth.
Partially accounting for the growing number of AIDS cases is the fact that better treatments have led to an increased number of people living with AIDS in the United States.
During the news conference, Williams talked about how easy it is to get tested for HIV. Testing can be conducted confidentially or anonymously. Through confidential testing, medical personnel or state health departments have access to test results. People who choose to be tested anonymously are assigned a random number. That number is provided to the lab and results are recorded for a number, without an individual having to provide his or her name.
People have a variety of tests to choose from today. The traditional test is a blood test, but for people who aren’t comfortable with needles, there are swabs of the mouth, urine samples and new do-it-yourself home testing kits. Williams cautioned that people who purchase do-it-yourself kits should look for kits that are FDA approved.
Williams invited a representative of the Bethlehem-based Orasure Technologies to the news conference. Orasure provides an oral test, which are approved for use by clinical labs.
“I can’t stress enough that the only way we are going to control the spread of HIV and AIDS is to know who is infected,” Williams said. “Yes, it can be scary to consider that you might be carrying HIV, but the only way that you will have peace of mind is to take the test and find out. Take control of your future and do your part to protect the ones that you love.”
Her sentiments were reinforced by William W. Lander, M.D., president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society and a practicing physician from Bryn Mawr, who said: “With as many as 280,000 individuals nationwide being HIV-positive without knowing it many Americans are facing a silent time bomb. Being tested is as simple as calling your doctor and scheduling an appointment or visiting your closest testing site. For our patients and their loved ones who are at risk for HIV, we strongly recommend that they check with their doctor to be tested.”
“What are you waiting for,” Williams asked. “Be Smart. Take the test!”