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Dr. John Chittick, spokesperson for TeenAIDS-PeerCorps,
announced a free HIV testing event, Fitchburg Youth AIDS Awareness Day, for
youth 17 and older at Riverfront Park in Fitchburg, Mass., on September 7. The
volunteer organization hopes to set a world record for the number of youth tested
simultaneously for HIV in a public venue.
The testing event will offer HIV rapid-testing using US Food
and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved, over-the-counter test kits that can
detect the virus from an oral saliva swab in 20 minutes with 99-percent
accuracy. Participants must show identification to prove they are 17 or older.
TeenAIDS-PeerCorps volunteers will provide counseling before, during, and after
the test and recommend follow-up confirmatory testing at a hospital or clinic,
so those who receive a positive test result could connect to treatment
immediately. Chittick’s organization has been offering the free HIV tests,
which ordinarily cost $39 plus tax, since FDA approved the over-the-counter
test last fall.
Chittick stated that most youth underestimated their risk of
acquiring HIV because they perceived the virus as an adult, gay,
African-American, or needle disease. In reality, one of every four new HIV
diagnoses occurred among people ages 13 to 24, with a large number of new cases
among heterosexual youth, according to Chittick. He noted that youth often
avoided testing sites such as hospitals or clinics because they feared such
sites would notify their parents.
Chittick’s research indicated that 80–85 percent of youth
HIV transmission occurred through heterosexual sex, 10–12 percent through
homosexual sex, and the remainder through needle-sharing. He also estimated
that youth were exposed more frequently to blood-borne diseases like STDs and
hepatitis through needles used for tattooing and body piercing.
