“Would you like to have a free HIV test ma’am?” one of the booth assistants in a blue shirt came up to her.
“What?” the woman asked, instantly dropping the flyer she was holding.
The assistant repeated what he said and the woman vigorously shook her head before walking briskly away.
The scene was repeated several more times, with people getting shocked, embarrassed and fleeing away before anyone saw them near the booth.
The tests were conducted inside a laboratory/van parked beside the booth as early as 5 p.m. on Thursday but as of 9 p.m., only 14 men and women mostly in their 30’s and 40’s took advantage of the chance to have a free Human immunodeficiency virus or HIV testing.
HIV/Sexually Transmitted Disease Resource and Treatment Center community outreach worker Melissa Camacho told the Variety that it was their first outreach activity in line with the World AIDS campaign this month but they would also visit schools to conduct lectures to students about HIV/AIDS or acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
The HIV testing on Thursday was done through gum swabbing and results could be had in 20 minutes.
“We want to invite the people to come and get tested for HIV. The earlier they know, the better it is for their safety,” Camacho said. The same booth will be installed at the street market on Thursday this week, Dec. 22, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., she said.
Camacho said a big obstacle that people need to conquer is being scared to get tested. She said some people would rather not know than to test positive.
“There is no need to be scared or embarrassed. The test just takes a few minutes, it’s free and the results are confidential,” Camacho said.
It is much more convenient to have the test at the street market than going to the hospital.
Available at the HIV/STD Resource and Treatment Center booth are flyers and informational materials of all kinds related to HIV, STD, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and condoms.
Communicable disease manager John Dax Moreno earlier said there had been 29 HIV cases in the CNMI since 1997. He said as of July this year,
there were nine patients with HIV known to the HIV program — six adult males and three adult females. Of these cases, two were diagnosed elsewhere in the United States.
Moreno said teens as young as 14 get chlamydia, one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases that can make men and women unable to have children.
CNMI statistics on sexually transmitted diseases from 2000 to 2010 showed 31 cases of gonorrhea in 2004 but only 2 in 2010 — a male and a female — from the 890 individuals tested.
Ninety were infected with syphilis in 2000 but the number dropped to seven in 2010.
Of the 268 persons with chlamydia in 2000, only 123 reported positive in 2010 as a result of the 1073 tests conducted last year — 105 females and 18 males.
For those who would like to be tested for HIV or those who are interested to know more details about STD’s and HIV, contact the HIV/STD Resource and Treatment Center at 664-4050/3/5/7 during office hours.
HIV: the facts
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS, and if HIV gets into your blood, you can get very sick. A person can have HIV and not know it. It can be years or months before you get sick but you can still pass HIV to others.
You can get HIV
• If you have sex with someone who has HIV. Your partner can have HIV and not know it.
• If you share needles with someone who has HIV. Your drug partner can have HIV and not know it.
• A mother who has HIV can pass it on to her baby before it’s born, during birth or while breastfeeding.
You can be safer:
Use a condom for all types of sex.
Don’t share needles.
Hugging, kissing and touching are safe.
Not having sex is the safest.
If you think you have HIV, get an HIV test. The test is safe and private.
Remember: You cannot tell by looking if someone has HIV. The best thing to do is protect yourself.
Source: www.etr.org
