It's World AIDS Day, and the message in Wisconsin , as elsewhere, is "know your status, get tested." Mike McFadden is with the AIDS/HIV program in Wisconsin's Division of Public Health. "People need to know their HIV status, and the best way to find that out is to have an HIV test done," he says. "For those who find out that they're HIV positive, it's rally important that they get into medical care."
The Centers for Disease Control now recommends that all sexually active persons between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested. McFadden says that while there's still no cure, there are treatments which can allow those who are HIV positive to lead full lives. But despite that, McFadden says CDC estimates that twenty five percent of those with HIV infection don't know it. "That's exactly the reason that it's very important for anyone who's sexually active, or anyone who may be at higher risk for HIV, to get tested and know their status," says McFadden, who notes that persons of color in Wisconsin have relatively higher HIV infections rates.
Want to know where you can be tested? Just contact your county health department.