By Tracy F. Harris
“There are a lot of people infected,” Cathy Howard said, referring to HIV in the college-age demographic. Howard is a member of the Northwest Area Health Education Center –– NWAHEC –– and the director of the HIV testing program.
“A lot of people that age feel they’re invincible,” she said.
The free testing is available at U of L, she said, and will hopefully encourage students who wouldn’t otherwise get tested to do so. U of L allows the NWAHEC to use its facilities for the testing.
It’s during the college years that many people contract HIV, Howard said. That’s when people experience multiple partners, unprotected sex, and otherwise “experiment.”
“It puts them at a high risk,” Howard said. Even though many people contract the disease at college age, they “may not die of it right away,” she said.
The procedure consists of an Orasure test, which is a bloodless, painless method. A cotton swab is used to take a sample from the mouth. “It takes about two minutes,” Howard said. She is the one who conducts the examinations.
Test results are accurate to 99.7 percent and can be received in a week.
Because of the implications of a positive result, both pre- and post-test counseling is provided. Howard conducts the pre-test counseling to prepare clients in case the test does come back positive. “I make sure they’re educated,” she said.
She asks clients what they know about HIV and AIDS, and about how it can be transmitted. “I make sure they’re aware of the risk factors,” she added.
If the results do come back positive, clients receive additional counseling.
Howard said the number of clients varies from week to week — whenever the notice is posted on ULink, more people show up, she said. According to Howard, sometimes as many as 32 people have shown up in a day.
