Center, university provide HIV testing to students

By Amanda Phipps

phippsa@mytjnow.com

In less time than it takes to drive to Charlotte, students can find out their HIV/AIDS status a few minutes from campus for free. 

Located in a new facility in Tech Park South, Rock Hill, CatawbaCare offers free rapid testing for HIV and AIDS for anyone who wants to come in and get tested, director of prevention services at CatawbaCare center Monica Adamian said.

She said they offer a finger prick blood test or an oral swab test, both of which are preliminary tests and are over 99 percent accurate.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus that can cause AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). A person can have HIV without having AIDS, she said. 

The test can take up to three months after contraction to detect the virus, Adamian said. If a person tests positive, they will have a more precise test in the lab to see if the results are the same. For negative results, the tests used at the center are seen as 100 percent accurate and no secondary tests are needed.

“If someone may have been exposed within the last three months, we recommend they get retested three months after the exposure,” she said. 

HIV prevention specialist at CatawbaCare center Denise Rivera said the blood test results take 10 minutes to process and the oral swab test results take 20 minutes. With each test, the center requires pre- and post-counseling.

On-campus testing is also available at Winthrop. Using a blood test, the university offers students, faculty and staff testing for $12, wellness coordinator Brianne Gemeinhardt said. The test is 99 percent accurate for detecting HIV and the results take 10 days to process. 

There were no positive HIV tests in 2009, according to Winthrop health services data reported on the American College Health Association PAP Test and STI survey for 2009.

HIV invades and attacks CD4 cells, cells that help the body fight off viruses and germs, thereby diminishing the impact of the immune system, Adamian said. 

“It is hard to fight anything off,” she said.

So far, studies for CD4 and viral load count for Winthrop haven’t been completed, so no accuracy percentage exists for detecting those, said medical laboratory technician Karen Stewart. 

HIV is spread through blood, vaginal fluid, semen, pre-ejaculate fluid and breast milk, Rivera said. The most common mode of transmission is through unprotected vaginal, oral or anal sex. Other modes include sharing needles or syringes, from a mother to child through breast milk, pregnancy or birth and through blood-to-blood contact.

However, individuals cannot get HIV from touching someone or using the bathroom or drinking after someone, according to the CatawbaCare website. HIV is not transmitted from tears, sweat or saliva. The only way to 100 percent prevent HIV and STIs is to abstain from oral, vaginal or anal sex. The website also said condoms can help protect people if they choose to have sex.

Winthrop’s health and counseling services offers free condoms in Crawford. 

AIDS is an autoimmune dysfunction that attacks the body’s defenses, Adamian said. However, even people with a weak immune system can build their CD4 number back up with medication.

“AIDS is not a death sentence,” she said.

Even though medications do exist to treat HIV and AIDS, there is no cure, she said. The disease requires constant monitoring, and people have to come in every three months for blood work. 

Once put on medication, a person will typically have to take it forever, Rivera said. The medications are usually expensive and come with side effects, including nausea, headaches and cold sweats. Constantly taking medication can also affect a person’s liver and kidney function. 

However, the federal government funds CatawbaCare so they can work with individuals to make sure they get the medication they need, Rivera said.

AIDS is a disease, but can also have social effects, Rivera said.

“People do not get the support they would with other diseases (such as diabetes),” she said. “It adds to the problem and can lead to depression and anxiety.”

The center has many programs to spread awareness of the issue and visits schools, churches and other areas to get the word out, Rivera said. 

“We try to give people the information in a fun environment and give them free stuff to make sure they can make healthy choices,” she said. “We give them the tools to protect themselves and make informed decisions.”

Though still an issue, there hasn’t been an increase in the number of positive HIV cases within DHEC (South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control) lab results for York County, Stewart said.

The number of people living with HIV has grown due to medications allowing people to live longer.

The number of infection cases in Hispanic and Latino populations has risen due to better reporting and data collection techniques, Rivera said.

HIV and AIDS is also becoming a bigger issue in the South because more people are mobile and as they travel, the disease does as well, Adamian said.

Limiting the number of partners a person has, using condoms and getting tested are ways to reduce risk, Adamian said. They also need to know their partner’s and their own sexual history and make informed decisions.

Drinking and doing drugs can also impact a person’s judgment and may lead to poor decision-making, she said. 

“It is not about who you are, but what behaviors or actions you participate in,” Adamian said. “You are the only person who can control your risk.”

Race, sex, gender or other characteristics do not define a person’s risk, Rivera said.

“What matters is what individuals do to protect themselves,” she said. “HIV is an equal-opportunity disease.”