Students urged to get tested for HIV
Recent study reveals that number of HIV cases are higher than government previously thought.
By Joe Preiner (Contact)
Friday, September 5th, 2008
Students at the University may want to consider taking another test this semester after the release of a recent study.
A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the number of new HIV infections occurring in the U.S. each year was underestimated.
The report cited about 56,300 new cases of HIV in 2006, the most recent data available. The number itself was nearly 40 percent higher than what had previously been reported by the CDC. Officials from the CDC said the new number was a result of better statistical methods and did not represent an increase in the actual number of new infections.
HIV/AIDS testing
Series of photo illustrations demonstrating the process of taking and testing blood samples at Watkins Student Health Center.
The number of new cases each year goes relatively unnoticed among young adults, who are among those most affected by the disease.
Ken Sarber, health educator for Student Health Services, said the disease didn’t rank high on the list of students’ concerns.
“They seem to think that it’s a disease of the past,” Sarber said. “They’re not worried about it.”
Stacey Burton, education and outreach coordinator for the Douglas County AIDS Project, or DCAP, said the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS is just one reason why people don’t get tested.
“It’s looked at as an unclean, unsanitary disease,” Burton said. “People think you have to participate in something dirty to get it. But it’s not just in Africa. It’s not the poor orphans. It’s the people you sit next to in church or in class.”
Watkins Memorial Health Center deals with STI testing. Patricia Denning, physician and chief of staff at Watkins, said the center administered 618 HIV tests in 2007, which accounted for 2.5 percent of all lab tests given.
Denning said the center did everything it could to make students feel comfortable.
She said students could request the sex of their doctor for appointments discussing personal issues to make them more comfortable. Students can call a specific number to make appointments for confidential testing. Denning said people usually didn’t get tested because they were afraid of getting a positive test result.
“It’s hard to say over the phone, ‘I think I have an STI,’” Denning said. “But for people to have an infection and not address it — potentially passing it to another person — I think that’s a very serious problem.”
Watkins charges a fee testing. The fee comes at a discounted price because student fees included in tuition support the center. Denning said it was generally among the lowest testing prices found in the area.
The Douglas County Aids Project also offers HIV testing. DCAP administers the tests for free during regular clinic hours with scheduled appointments, but students would have to travel off campus to be tested.
Burton said treatment for people living with the disease was around $25,000 a year.
Denning said that one way to combat the spread of the disease was through increased awareness. She said that Student Health Services did well providing information to students, but that there was always room for improvement.
— Edited by Arthur Hur
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