AIDS Walk Philly raises $300,000 for people living with HIV/AIDS
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – $300,000 is going toward helping HIV/AIDS patients in Philadelphia and it's because of the AIDS Walk Philly event over the weekend. The money raised will help those in need of emergency assistance.
More than 27,000 people in the Greater Philadelphia Area are living with HIV/AIDS.
Organizers also say our area has a new infection rate three times greater than the national average.
The first AIDS Walk Philly happened in 1987 organized by members of the lesbian and gay community center.
Since the main outbreak in the 1980s, modern medicine has found ways to successfully treat patients with HIV/AIDS. The most common treatment is antiretroviral therapy, short ART.
HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus that, if left untreated, can lead to AIDS.
There are also preventative measures to protect yourself from contracting HIV. One of them is pre-exposure prophylaxis or short PrEP. The CDC says it "reduces your chances of getting HIV from sex or injection drug use." Additional preventative measures are highly recommended.
A medication that may prevent contracting HIV after exposure is called PEP. The CDC says "PEP should be used only in emergency situations and must be started within 72 hours after a recent possible exposure to HIV."
More information about medication and treatment can be found here.