In conjunction with World AIDS Day, Washington University School of Medicine’s Infectious Diseases Clinic will offer free, confidential HIV testing. World AIDS Day, observed annually on Dec. 1, was established to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS throughout the world. According to the United Nations, an estimated 33.2 million people worldwide are living with HIV.
HIV testing is available at the clinic Monday, Nov. 30 – Thursday, Dec. 3, from 9 am – 4 pm. No appointment is necessary. The clinic is located at 4570 Children’s Place, between Taylor and Euclid avenues, on the School of Medicine campus. Participants will receive a rapid HIV test using a finger prick to obtain a drop of blood. Results will be available 20 minutes after testing.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends HIV screening for individuals ages 13-64, as part of their routine healthcare. “Knowing your HIV status is key to protecting your health as well as the health of others,” says Turner Overton, M.D., a Washington University infectious disease specialist who treats patients with HIV/AIDS. “Early diagnosis helps to ensure the best possible health outcomes and treatment options. With newer, more effective drugs, HIV has become a chronic, manageable disease for many patients.”
Of the 1 million living with HIV in the United States, one in five do not know they are infected, which means they can unknowingly pass the virus to their partners, Overton says. In the St. Louis area, some 5,200 individuals were living with HIV at the end of 2008.
Anyone testing positive can be connected with the free Linkage to Care service, which provides education, support and referrals to HIV medical care. Those who are uninsured may receive medical care at the University’s Infectious Diseases Clinic through a Ryan White grant. The free testing offered by the Washington University clinic is funded, in part, by a CDC grant. For more information about free HIV testing, please call (314) 747-1237 or (314) 747-1244.
Washington University School of Medicine’s 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked third in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.