Lake Co. Health Dept. offers free HIV tests Feb. 7
Mark your calendars. Feb. 7 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a national HIV/AIDS testing and treatment community mobilization initiative designed to encourage African Americans across the United States to get involved, get educated, get tested, and get treated around HIV/AIDS, as it continues to affect African American communities.
To encourage more people to be tested and help to further the discussion about HIV/AIDS in the African American community, the Lake County Health Department/ Community Health Center's STD/HIV Program will be offering free HIV testing at three clinic sites on Monday, Feb. 7.
The sites include:
• Belvidere Medical Building, 2400 Belvidere Road in Waukegan from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Grand Avenue Health Center, 3010 Grand Ave. in the Health Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• North Chicago Health Center, 2215 14th St. in North Chicago from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"We have to challenge the mindset and notion that African American people are not at risk of HIV/AIDS regardless of their sexual orientation, drug addiction or behavior," said Irene Pierce, executive director of the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center. "While African Americans represent approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the group accounts for almost half of the nation's AIDS cases."
Currently, African Americans represent nearly 43 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases in Lake County but account for only 8 percent of the county's population. Each year, there are more than 50 new cases of HIV reported in the county and almost half of them are in the African American community.
Following are additional statistics:
• In 2008, an estimated 18,328 African Americans received an AIDS diagnosis -- a number that has remained relatively stable since 2005.
• By the end of 2007, an estimated 233,624 African Americans with a diagnosis of AIDS had died in the US.
• In 2006, HIV was the ninth leading cause of death for all African Americans and the third leading cause of death for both African American men and women aged 35-44.
Unfortunately, many of those who are infected with HIV are unaware of their status and may unknowingly transmit the virus to others.
For more information on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, please contact the Health Department's STD/HIV Program by calling (847) 377-8450 or visit their website at: NEED2KNOWLakeCounty.org.