County residents encouraged to get tested, treated for HIV

Test. Treat. Prevent.

These are the three main strategies of the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency’s Getting to Zero initiative to end new HIV infections in the region within 10 years.

National HIV Testing Day was June 27, and county health officials are encouraging people to get tested and to ask their doctor about getting pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, to prevent them from getting the virus.

“One out of every 11 San Diego County residents who is HIV positive does not know it,” Patrick Loose, chief of the county Health and Human Services Agency’s HIV, STD and Hepatitis Branch, said. “Everyone 18 and over should get tested, whether they think they are at risk or not.”

More than 33% of area residents living with HIV are not getting treatment for the virus and could infect others.

Getting tested is easy to do. Residents can ask their doctor to perform the HIV test during a routine physical exam or they can go to a county STD clinic and have it done there. In most circumstances, they will generally have the results in 20 minutes or less.

Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, about 15,000 San Diego County residents have been diagnosed with AIDS. Since 2006, more than 5,400 residents have been diagnosed with HIV disease.

Advances in medication and treatment have helped people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. Moreover, persons who are successfully treated cannot transmit HIV sexually to others. The annual number of deaths among persons with HIV has declined by 87% since 1994, when the highest number of AIDS deaths was reported.

PrEP can reduce risk of getting HIV

County health officials are also encouraging residents to reduce their risk of getting HIV by getting pre-exposure prophylaxis, known as PrEP, which can be 99% effective when used daily.

PrEP requires HIV-negative people to take the medication daily to help protect them from getting HIV if they are exposed to the virus through sexual contact or injection drug use. Prophylaxis means to prevent or control the spread of an infection or disease. PrEP can be prescribed only by a doctor or health care provider, but there are programs available that help uninsured and underinsured individuals access PrEP with little or no cost. A PrEP Navigator can be reached at (619) 692-6621, to provide more information or even schedule an appointment with a care provider.

Also, a person must take an HIV test before beginning PrEP, to be sure they don’t already have HIV, and every three months while they’re taking it, so they’ll have to get regular follow-ups. Before starting PrEP, their doctor should also test the kidneys to make sure they are working well.

“HIV can be prevented,” Dr. Wilma Wooten, county public health officer, said. “When people with HIV are receiving appropriate treatment, they are highly unlikely to transmit the virus to others.”

Testing people for HIV and encouraging those who test negative but are vulnerable to HIV to get on PrEP are part of Live Well San Diego, the county’s vision to improve the health and well-being of local residents.

To learn more about HIV and AIDS and testing locations, visit http://www.stdsandiego.org.