Health Officials Urge Continued Vigilance Against AIDS
DETROIT (WWJ) Monday marks National Aids Testing Day and experts are warning sexually active Americans to stay vigilant against the disease by getting the test.
Emory University Epidemiologist Patrick Sullivan says over 15,000 people were living with HIV in Michigan in 2014, and there were 219 deaths despite today's advanced treatments. More than half the victims lived in Detroit.
In fact, roughly 7,700 people living in Detroit had AIDS in 2014, he added.
Even for those with the means to get help and treatment, a successful course of treatment for HIV isn't guaranteed, Sullivan said.
"There are a variety of things that can still lead to bad outcomes for people living with HIV and some of those include folks who don't start taking the new and very effective medication or folks who have trouble adhering to them or folks who simply get diagnosed so late in the course of their HIV disease that medications can't provide the full benefit," Sullivan said.
The CDC recommends everyone between 13 and 64 get an AIDS test.
"HIV is still a very real and present epidemic in many places and that includes Detroit," Sullivan said.
[THERE'S A MAP OF THE DISEASE AND AVAILABLE TESTING SITES AT AIDSVU.ORG]