COURT HOUSE – In recognition of National Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Testing Day, which is June 23, Cape May County Department of Health reminded residents about the importance of getting tested for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Cape May County Department of Health offers free HIV/AIDS and STD testing every Monday, by appointment, and every Tuesday, walk-in from 1 p.m.-5:30 p.m. To make an appointment, call (609) 465-1194 or visit www.cmchealth.net for more information.
“Cape May County ranks 17th out of 21 in New Jersey for prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases,” stated Kevin Thomas, Health Officer of Cape May County Department of Health. “The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) reports that one in seven individuals in the United States with HIV/AIDS are not aware that they have the disease (Feb. 12). There is no cure to HIV/AIDS once you have contracted the virus, so the best protection is prevention.”
Human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. If not treated, HIV can weaken the immune system to the point that the body cannot fight off infection, and can lead to the final stage of HIV, which is AIDS.
HIV is passed through certain body fluids, such as blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids and breast milk. The infected body fluid must come in contact with either mucus membrane, directly into the blood stream, or damaged skin in order to be transmitted.
The CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once a year as part of their annual checkup. There is no cure for HIV/AIDS, but there are medicines to help suppress the disease.
You can prevent HIV/AIDS by doing the following:
• Abstinence
• Limit number of sexual partners
• Never sharing needles
• Using a condom
• Using HIV prevention medicine, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis, PrEP and post exposure prophylaxis, PEP
The only way to know if you have HIV/AIDS is to be tested. For more information, call (609) 465-1194 or visit www.cmchealth.net.
