Middletown has the highest number of cumulative reported AIDS cases in Middlesex County, according to an AIDS and HIV forum led by the Oasis Center Program at the Community Health Center in Middletown. The forum, held Wednesday night at the Public Affairs Center, was presented by the Lambda Tau City Wide Hartford Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
“Teenagers should be tested under any circumstances, especially college students, and more especially African-Americans,” said Tracy Douglass, Risk Reduction Counselor for the program. “The numbers are on the rise. The only thing worse than having the disease is having it and not knowing.”
In order to address the severity of HIV and AIDS infection rate, the presenters relayed various statistics. According to information the presenters took from the Center for Disease Control DC Annual HIV/AIDS Report from 2002, women account for nearly 45.9 percent of new infections. The report also said that African Americans comprise 41 percent of Americans living with HIV/AIDS, and 70 percent of new infections are people 25 years and younger.
“We go everywhere, halfway homes, colleges, drug and alcohol treatment facilities and at the end of the day we feel good about ourselves,” said Eric Watts, director of the Oasis Center Program. “This is a preventable disease, so if only one person listens and does not become infected, then I am happy.”
The presenters discussed the many stages of HIV before it develops into AIDS. The first step is the acute infection stage, where the infected has the flu for a week. The presenters added that just because someone may have had the flu does not mean that they have AIDS or HIV. The second stage is the asymptomatic period that could last from six months to up to ten years, according to the presenters. The symptomatic period where the T-Cells begin to drop from around 800-1,400 to 200 follows. The final stage is full blown AIDS, in which an untreated patient has at most a year and a half to live.
The presenters emphasized that although AIDS is not curable, it is preventable.
“I like to come here and educate students about this,” said Mike Gaffey, AIDS/HIV Educator. “I think it is really important thing to do. We just had a twenty-year old male come in who had full-blown AIDS. Situations like this let us know that we need to get at the college students and get them tested. I am very passionate about this, this is not a job for me, I left my job already at an insurance company, this is my passion.”
Douglass explained all of the steps of the HIV testing process. The first three steps are the education about AIDS, addressing the risks and risk reductions procedures that one can take. The fourth step is the actual test. They simply swab the mouth cheek and then ask the patient to return in a week for the results. It is best for sexually active individuals to get tested on a regular basis, even if involved in a monogamous relationship.
The presenters acknowledged that the media is at least making an effort to inform teenagers and college students about the importance of getting tested.
“VIACOM has been doing a good job, but they are the only ones and that’s pretty scary. Even what they do is not enough,” Gaffey said.
“ I feel blessed to do this. God gave me the ability for people to listen, but until people know what its going on, I cannot help,” Douglass said. “Giving people a positive result is difficult, but here we have the facilities to help them get the care that they need.”
The forum was a collaborative effort between the Oasis Center Program and the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
“This group asked to come to the University and speak about AIDS awareness and I knew that we were going to be celebrating this week, so I thought that it would be a good idea to have them come,” said Courtney Taylor ’05, vice president and programs chair for the Lambda Tau Chapter. “I think that we had a really good turnout and the forum was not just informative, but eye-opening.”
For testing or questions contact Oasis at (860) 344-0551. Oasis is located at 83 Crescent Street across from Middlesex Hospital.
Leave a Reply to SandraLeeJ Cancel reply