Health District, Southern Nevada HIV Awareness Consortium offer free HIV screenings for National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 8, 2018

LAS VEGAS – The Southern Nevada Health District and the Southern Nevada HIV Awareness Consortium will offer rapid HIV screenings, syphilis testing, and additional health services on Saturday, October 13 to commemorate National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day. In the United States, Hispanics/Latinos accounted for approximately 26 percent of new HIV diagnoses in 2016 although they are only approximately 18 percent of the population. The testing event will take place from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 13 at Bonanza Plaza, 4250 E. Bonanza Rd., Las Vegas, NV. For more information, contact Rosita Castillo, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Inc., (702) 239-6217.

The Southern Nevada HIV Awareness Consortium is a group of community partners working together to fight HIV/AIDS in the community. National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day is an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of testing, promote effective prevention strategies, and to fight HIV stigma in the Hispanic/Latino community

This year’s theme, “Ending HIV is everyone’s job,” is a call to action to present existing tools to help end HIV and ask members of the community to do his or her part to take an HIV test, consider PrEP as a prevention treatment, to stay in HIV treatment so the virus becomes undetectable, and to use condoms. Only about half of Hispanics/Latinos living with HIV have achieved viral suppression.

Hispanics/Latinos tend to have delayed HIV diagnoses. A delay in seeking care increases the risk of developing AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there could be several factors that contribute to members of the community not accessing testing, including a stigma associated with HIV and language barriers, among others. The CDC reports that among Hispanics/Latinos who received an HIV diagnosis in 2016, 87 percent were men and 12 percent were women. Approximately 1 in 4 new HIV diagnoses among young (13-24 years old), gay, and bisexual men are Hispanic/Latinos; HIV infection rates for Hispanic women declined 16 percent between 2011 and 2015. For more information, visit the CDC’s HIV Among Hispanics/Latinos page.

The Sexual Health Clinic provides HIV/AIDS services that include testing, counseling, case management, outreach efforts, and community referrals. In addition, the Sexual Health Clinic offers STD screenings. Testing is $40. The Clinic is open 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday – Friday at 280 S. Decatur Blvd. For information, call (702) 759-0702. All testing is confidential.

The Southern Nevada Health District serves as the local public health authority for Clark County, Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite and North Las Vegas. The agency safeguards the public health of the community’s residents and visitors through innovative programs, regulations, and initiatives focused on protecting and promoting their health and well-being. More information about the Health District, its programs, services, and the regulatory oversight it provides is available at www.SNHD.info. Follow the Health District on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.