World AIDS Day 2015

I celebrated this World AIDS Day (today!) by volunteering at Nebraska AIDS Project as the HIV test administrator. This evening we tested 11 individuals in just under 2 hours (which is actually quite a lot considering the test takes 20+ mins to run!). I feel like I've been doing this work a long time now--just over 10 years--and still so many have no idea how to protect themselves and 12.8% of 1.2 million people living with HIV in the U.S. don't know their status. HIV is not a death sentence anymore, but there are still so many disparities and stigmas associated with this disease. There are ~50,000 newly diagnosed cases each year in the United States.

Don't want to be one of them?

Know your status and know your facts. HIV can be transmitted via:

1. unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex with an infected person,
2. sharing needles for injection drugs, piercings or tattoos with an infected person (aka blood-to-blood contact--not so much of an issue in the U.S. anymore, but in the early days blood transfusions were an issue. Now all blood is screened by the Red Cross before it's put into the general blood supply),
3. from an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding

The bodily fluids to avoid are: blood, semen, vaginal fluid, and breast milk. Recently the CDC has also added rectal fluids to the list too!

Education is really the best way to reduce the number of new cases. Know your status. Know your partner's status. Encourage your friends to get tested as well. Use protection during sexual acts. Don't share injection drug works. Learn about HIV transmission, safe and consensual sexual practices, and maybe even what other STDs are prominent in your area and how to protect yourself. You all know that I am a huge proponent for comprehensive sexuality education in schools. You should be too. These classes talk about much more than sex--partner negotiation, consent, healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, etc. Our young people aged 13-24 compromise only 16% of the U.S. population, but account for 26% of all new HIV infections in 2010 (the most recent data available).

But most importantly we need to have some serious conversations about stigma and discrimination. There are many people that I know and love living (happy and normal!) lives with HIV, but not everyone who is HIV+ has had such a positive response by their community. There are some key populations that are especially stigmatized and discriminated against--men who have sex with men, transgender women, black women, sex workers, IV drug users, trafficking victims, migrants, Hispanic women and others). We cannot and should not continue treating those who are positive as second class citizens. Love and respect your neighbors, folks. Reconcile old grievances and move forward together.

Want to get tested? Find a location near you!

Want to learn more about HIV? Visit the CDC website.