World AIDS Day

As World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 approaches, the Fairfax County Health Department urges county residents to get tested for the Human Inmmunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS. HIV and AIDS affect all age, race and gender brackets, according to Virginia Department of Health (VDH) statistics. This year, the Health Department reminds people age 50 and older that they too should get tested if they believe they may be at risk.

December 1 was proclaimed World AIDS Day by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at its Nov. 21 meeting. The day serves as a reminder to all residents to protect themselves and others from HIV and AIDS by avoiding behaviors that put them at risk; and to know their HIV status.

According to a 2002 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people age 45 and older made up 21 percent of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in 1999. By 2002, the figure was 25 percent. A 2004 CDC report said that people 50 and older are less likely to be tested for HIV, and they are less likely to discuss HIV/AIDS with their partners or medical providers. In addition, physicians may not ask patients age 50 and older about their behaviors that increase HIV/AIDS risk.

HIV attacks the body’s immune system. Although there is no cure, current medications can help many people infected with HIV live longer and healthier lives. The virus is spread by sexual contact or by sharing needles and/or syringes with someone who is infected, or less commonly (and now very rarely in countries where blood is screened), through transfusions of infected blood products. Babies born to HIV-infected women may become infected before or during birth or through breast-feeding after birth.

The Health Department offers free HIV testing at five district offices throughout Fairfax County . In addition, groups and organizations can arrange for educational presentations and workshops from the Health Department’s HIV Unit. For more information, call 703-246-2411, TTY 703-591-6435.

In Fairfax County , an estimated 1,800 people are living with HIV/AIDS, and more than 900 people have died from AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic.