FACT: After the first HIV case was documented in 1981, more than 60 million men, women and children were reportedly infected with the virus.
The OraQuick In-Home HIV Test is a new way to check your status (and that of your partner) without a doctor’s visit. In just 20 minutes, interested consumers can get results using the same test done by doctors. The FDA-approved kit requires a simple oral swab and tests for HIV-1 and HIV-2.
Although the test could potentially reduce nearly 50,000 new cases of HIV per year, OraQuick is almost 100 percent accurate. Researchers found it is only about 93 percent accurate when someone has the virus. The exam is now available online and in retail stores, such as CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid across the U.S. for $39.99.
Before once-a-day medicines were available to the public, HIV patients survived by ingesting cocktails of drugs per day. Now, Stribild is a once-daily, single tablet regimen for HIV-1 infection that contains four drugs in one. According to the New York Times, about 88 to 90 percent of people who took the drug possessed undetectable amounts of HIV in their blood. The Food and Drug Administration approved Stribild and was produced by Gilead Sciences in late August.
FACT: Today, approximately 34 million people worldwide are living with HIV, which includes more than 1 million in the United States.
Stay informed, stay protected, get tested and stay involved.
The numbers:
- 2.5 million – the number of new HIV infections in 2011, including an estimated 330,000 among children
- 46 – number of countries, territories and areas that restrict people living with HIV from entering or staying
- 23.5 million – number of HIV-positive people in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2011, which is about 69 percent of the global total
- 2 – Asians are the second largest group of people living with HIV
- Less than 100 – number of children infected with HIV in 2011
For more information on the education on HIV or AIDS, prevention of the diseases or knowledge on how you can get involved in the cause, here are a few resources to choose from:
www.who.int – World Health Organization
www.cdc.gov Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.greaterthan.org – Greater Than AIDS
www.aidschicago.org – AIDS Foundation of Chicago
www.kff.org – The Henry J.Keiser Family Foundation
www.redpumpproject.com – Red Pump Project
