The University Health Center tested about 60 students for HIV yesterday — a smaller turnout than in previous years — in a free event held to kick off its annual World AIDS Month awareness campaign.
The students were tested individually in the bottom level of the health center during yesterday’s three-hour event. Previous years have seen greater student participation: In 2007, 100 students received an HIV test during the kick-off event, and 88 students were tested last year, health center officials said. Sexual Health Education Programs Coordinator Allison Matson said the free HIV testing offered on Tuesday at Nyumburu Cultural Center probably affected yesterday’s showing.
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“We don’t care where students are getting tested, as long they’re getting tested,” she said. “Honestly, if we tested only one student the event would have been a success.”
More than 100 students were tested at Tuesday’s event, which was sponsored by the Prince George’s County Health Department, several campus groups and the BET network, Nyumburu Cultural Center Associate Director Anne Carswell said.
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Matson said many students have probably gone to other testing sites, prior to the annual event.
“A lot of students get tested at private care offices, because the cost of testing for HIV is absorbed by insurance companies,” Matson said.
The health center was able to test students for free because the manufacturer of the rapid HIV tests provides the health center with a couple hundred free tests every year.
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Over the course of the awareness month, officials strongly encourage students to check their HIV status. The university’s location reinforces the need for testing. Both Washington and Baltimore have high transmission rates and large populations of HIV-positive people.
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According to the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the region has “the highest rate of new AIDS cases per 100,000 population in the United States, a rate that is 12 times the national average.”
At the university, however, other sexually transmitted infections are more prevalent among the student population. Human papillomavirus, chlamydia and herpes are the most commonly spread diseases, according to the health center.
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But testing for sexually transmitted infections other than HIV pose other problems including high costs and shoddy results, health center officials said.
“HPV can be tricky to detect,” Matson said. “Boys, obviously, do not have a cervix, so they can’t just go get a pap smear. We would have to give boys an HPV blood test, which costs $175 each … A HIV test only costs $10 to $25.”
Lauren Stewart, special health programs coordinator for the health center, said the university has discussed obtaining HPV vaccinations.
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Some students who were tested yesterday said no matter what they thought their status would be, getting tested is a nerve-wracking process.
“There’s always that question of ‘what if?’ running through your mind,” sophomore Russian major Danielle Hise said. “I’ve haven’t always made the smartest decisions, and there are some nights I’ve gotten carried away, so I’m glad the university held this free event and I took the test.”
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According to the Prince George’s County Health Department, the county is second in the state for HIV and AIDS cases.
Junior American studies major David Blank said he felt better after getting tested, but stressed that being sexually active should not be the only criteria for finding out one’s HIV status.
“A lot of different people are at risk and should get tested,” he said. “Medical practitioners and intravenous drug users are also at risk, not just people who are sexually active.”
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