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CLEARFIELD — The Davis County Health Department and Midtown Community Heath Center are teaming up to provide free, rapid testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases from 3-6 p.m. Wednesday at 22 S. State, Suite 1007.
The event is being held in conjunction with Utah HIV Awareness Week, which runs Monday through July 1. During the week, people who are at risk for HIV infection are encouraged to "take the test, take control" and seek out HIV counseling and testing.
"Anyone who has ever had unprotected sex or shared needles with a partner whose HIV status was unknown should consider being tested for HIV," said Lewis Garrett, Davis County Health Department director.
For those at risk, finding out your HIV status is the first step to improving your health and the health of your partners.
–Lewis Garrett
"The only way to find out if you have HIV infection is to get tested. Knowledge of HIV status is essential. If you test positive for HIV, you can access necessary treatment and take precautions to prevent infecting others," Garrett said.
No appointment is needed for the testing, which produces results in approximately 20 minutes.
Nine new cases of HIV were identified in Davis County in 2010. Approximately 2,500 Utah residents have been diagnosed and are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, or AIDS itself, county health officials said.
That figure under-represents the actual number of individuals who are infected with HIV because it does not include those who are infected and have not been tested, Garrett said.
Almost 40 percent of people with HIV are not diagnosed until they have progressed to AIDS, and that can happen up to 20 years after they first became infected with the virus, Garrett said.
The virus may spread to other people because they don’t know they have it.
"For those at risk, finding out your HIV status is the first step to improving your health and the health of your partners," Garrett said.
Free STD/HIV testing is a service regularly offered by the Midtown Community Health Center from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Results from those tests take between five and 10 days.
Beginning in July, the Davis County Health Department will offer free rapid HIV testing on a regular basis. Individuals wanting same-day results can visit the clinic from 3-6 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month.
Additional information about HIV testing is available by calling the Davis County Health Department Disease Hotline at 801-525-5200 or by visiting www.daviscountyutah.gov/health. All calls are confidential.
For more information about National HIV Testing Day, visit www.hivtest.org.
Email:jpage@ksl.com
