Delawareans encouraged to know their HIV status

The Division of Public Health is encouraging Delawareans aged 13 to 64 who have not already done so to get a human immunodeficiency virus test. Although more than 3,500 people are known to be living with HIV in Delaware, one in 10 of those infected don't know they have the disease. That means that 400 people in Delaware may be infected but are unaware, posing a risk not only to their own health, but also to the health of others as well.

For people to know they are infected means they can seek treatment and protect their own health and the health of their partners. Knowing they are not infected means they can take precautions to ensure they remain uninfected.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once as part of routine healthcare, and that people with certain risk factors get tested more often. These include but are not limited to people with more than one sex partner, with sexually transmitted infections or who inject drugs. Sexually active gay and bisexual men may benefit from even more frequent testing.

"Since most new infections are transmitted by individuals who do not know they are infected, undiagnosed infection remains the main factor fueling the HIV epidemic," said DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay. "Knowing your HIV status is empowering. If you test positive, early medical treatment can lead to a fairly normal life. HIV treatment can reduce the virus in a person's bloodstream to 'undetectable' levels, keeping patients healthy for many years, and greatly reducing the chance of transmitting the virus to their sex partners."

DPH also reminds everyone that a person's negative HIV status expires every time one engages in risky behaviors like unprotected sex or use of injectable drugs. Once this happens, they have to repeat the test at least three months after the incident because early exposure may be missed by a test.

Getting tested is easy and quick. Rapid HIV testing kits require only a single finger needle-stick and provide the results in 10 minutes. For more information and to find an HIV testing location for year-round testing opportunities, go to www.hivtest.org.