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The Grad­u­ate Cen­ter is an HIV-saavy com­mu­nity, which is evi­denced by the sig­nif­i­cant turnout to the recent con­fi­den­tial Rapid-HIV test­ing event spon­sored by the Well­ness Center-Student Health Ser­vices on Novem­ber 11. In fact, there proved to be such a need for the ser­vice, the Out­reach Team from Ryan-NENA Com­mu­nity Health Cen­ter will be return­ing on Thurs­day, Decem­ber 3, from 10:00 – 12:00 and 2:00 – 4:00 on the con­course level! In addi­tion, the Well­ness Center-Student Health Ser­vices will be tabling infor­ma­tion on HIV/AIDS and World AIDS Day in the lobby.

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The fact that there is so much activ­ity and edu­ca­tion around HIV speaks to the need for con­tin­ued efforts to stem trans­mis­sion of the dis­ease. Accord­ing to the CDC, many per­sons with HIV do not get tested until late in their infec­tion. In the United States, approx­i­mately 40 per­cent to 50 per­cent of patients with HIV infec­tion are diag­nosed with AIDS within one year of testing.

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Another chal­lenge to pre­ven­tion efforts is that many per­sons who are tested do not return to learn their test results. Using the tra­di­tional test, it may take sev­eral weeks to get results back, war­rant­ing a sec­ond appoint­ment. The CDC esti­mated that in 2000, 31 per­cent of patients who tested pos­i­tive at public-sector test­ing sites did not return to receive their results

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Rapid-HIV test­ing both reduces wait time to one visit and expands the test­ing sites to non-clinical set­tings. A rapid test uses a quick fin­ger stick test that pro­duces results in about twenty min­utes. Allow­ing time for con­fi­den­tial paper­work and edu­ca­tion, the appoint­ment takes less than an hour. The Ryan-NENA staff pro­vides com­pre­hen­sive, con­fi­den­tial coun­sel­ing and will con­nect you quickly to med­ical ser­vices if needed.

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One test counts the num­ber of T-cells in the immune sys­tem. T-cells are white blood cells that help the body fight infec­tions. HIV destroys these cells. A per­son with HIV usu­ally has a high num­ber of T-cells early on. Over time, that num­ber begins to drop. Another test checks how much HIV is in the blood. This is called “viral load test­ing.” The num­ber of T-cells and the HIV viral load deter­mine what kind of treat­ment a per­son should have, and show whether or not the treat­ment is work­ing once it is started.

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There are other test­ing options. State and local health depart­ments, HIV/AIDS orga­ni­za­tions or pri­vate doc­tors can give the test. The nurse prac­ti­tioner at the Well­ness Center-Student Health Ser­vices can give the test. It has to be sent out for results and requires a follow-up visit, but may be a more con­ve­nient option for Grad­u­ate Cen­ter stu­dents. There is a lab fee of about $12 that will be billed to the stu­dent by the lab.

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No mat­ter the method, all HIV tests are con­fi­den­tial. Your result is told only to you, but it is also put in your med­ical file, which your health care provider has access to. Some areas offer anony­mous test­ing. This means you don’t give your name and the result will only be reported to you. Home test­ing kits are avail­able from phar­ma­cies. You mail a blood sam­ple along with a code name or num­ber and receive results over the phone.

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Know­ing your HIV-status is crit­i­cal to get­ting early treat­ment if your sta­tus is pos­i­tive. While there is no cure for HIV, treat­ments can be started when the per­son is healthy. The most com­mon treat­ments limit the abil­ity of the virus to repro­duce. They help pro­tect the immune sys­tem and improve chances of stay­ing healthy. Other treat­ments may slow the spread of HIV, make the immune sys­tem stronger and treat oppor­tunis­tic infec­tions.

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Cer­tain med­i­cines can be taken by HIV-positive preg­nant women to sig­nif­i­cantly reduce the risk of pass­ing it on to their baby. Since it takes time for HIV to show up in the blood sys­tem after it has been con­tracted, it’s best to get tested regularly.

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