GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Kent County Health Department will offer a free, walk-in HIV testing on Thursday, December 1, in recognition of World AIDS Day.
An estimated one in eight people living with HIV in the United States do not know they have it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The only way to know your status with the virus is to get tested.
The health department says knowing your status allows you take the necessary steps to stop the spread of HIV.
“These individuals are likely to have an already effected immune system and have likely been living with HIV for an extended period of time,” April Hight, Personal Health Services supervisors for the KCHD, said. “HIV can often go undiagnosed because there may not be any obvious signs and symptoms. That’s why it’s important to get tested regularly, especially if you have multiple sex or needle sharing partners.”
The Kent County Health Department’s free testing event is Thursday, December 1 from 12:45 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.
It will be at the KCHD’s main clinic at 700 Fuller NE in Grand Rapids.
In addition to the free testing, the health department says certified test counselors will be available to answer questions and connect community members with services they need.
More than 32 million people have died worldwide from AIDS-related illness, since the first known cases of HIV were identified.
Today’s testing can detect HIV within minutes and there is treatment for people living with HIV that helps prevent the virus from growing so that person will not get sick and cannot spread the virus.
World AIDS Day started in 1988 as an international day to recognize people around the world who have been and who are affected by HIV.
The day, which takes place each year on December 1, aims to raise awareness about HIV remaining a global health issue.
