The HIV infection rate in the District of Columbia is twice that of the rest of the country, according to a recent survey.
The survey, conducted by the Administration for HIV Policy and Programs, a division of the District’s health department, is part of the city’s campaign to test all 400,000 residents between the ages of 14 and 84. According to the survey, out of 7,000 people tested, roughly 3 percent tested positive for HIV, bringing the rate of HIV in D.C. to more than double the national rate.
The $8 million campaign, “Come Together D.C. – Get Screened for HIV,” is the first initiative to offer public testing for HIV.
Maheen Kaleem (SFS ’07), vice president of on-campus events for the Georgetown University Aids Coalition, said that the fact that D.C. has the highest infection rate is not new information.
“Georgetown students like to think of themselves as somewhat isolated from the epidemic,” she said.
Kaleem said that GUAC started the “Know Your Status” campaign in order to provide students with information and promote HIV awareness. She said that the campaign, which was introduced last spring, will begin again at the end of the month. GUAC will bring mobile testing units to campus so that students will have the opportunity to be tested for HIV, Kaleem said.
GUAC will also participate in the AIDS Walk this Saturday to raise money for the Whitman Walker Clinic, a non-profit AIDS hospice with numerous locations throughout the District.
She added that HIV infection rates tend to be higher on college campuses.
From information taken from this survey, the AHPP hopes to have a comprehensive database of those tested in the District. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends HIV testing for individuals between the ages of 13 and 64, but the problem of HIV has grown so large in D.C. that AHPP expanded the target age bracket for testing.
Clifton Roberson, a public health advisor for the AHPP, said that the HIV infection rate in the District is a major problem.
Roberson said that the distribution of roughly 80,000 oral-swab tests over the past three months is part of an effort to make HIV testing more commonplace in routine health-care. If HIV is caught early, the onset of AIDS can be delayed.
“Research shows that those who know their HIV status and are connected to care live longer and modify their behavior to reduce the risk of HIV transmission to others,” Roberson said.
Roberson said that the AHPP was happy about the fact that people in D.C. are now talking about HIV more openly and seem more willing to get tested.
Nevertheless, many D.C. residents living with HIV do not know they are infected Roberson said. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 million people in the United States are infected with HIV and 25 percent of those infected do not know they are carrying the virus.