National Latino Aids Awareness Day -- October 15

McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH) recognizes October 15 as National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, a campaign aimed at engaging the Hispanic/Latino community in promoting HIV awareness through testing, prevention and education.  This year’s theme is “Commit to Speak”/”Comprométete a Hablar”. 

MCDH offers free and confidential HIV testing and counseling for high risk individuals in 30 minutes, as well as testing for sexually transmitted infections (STI) for those at risk, for a fee.  Call 815-334-4500 for an appointment. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 200,000 Latinos have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.  The rates of new infections among Latino men were more than double that of white men. The rate of HIV infection among Latino women was nearly four times that of white women.  According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 123 people in McHenry County are living with HIV/AIDS (51 HIV, 72 AIDS) as of December 2011.

Some steps that Latinos can take include:

• Getting tested to find out if you are HIV positive;
• Seek early medical care if you are HIV positive to protect yourself and your partner;
• Protect yourself and others from HIV through safe sex practices;
• Seek education about HIV.

The CDC states the impact of HIV on Hispanics/Latinos is not directly related to race or ethnicity, but rather to harsh realities and challenges faced by some communities, including lower awareness of HIV status, poverty, access to care, stigma, migration acculturation (the process of adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of another group) and homophobia. 

Visit http://www.latinoaids.org/ to get the facts about HIV.  For more information, call MCDH at 815-334-4500.