More Adults Have HIV in Washington, D.C....

Although we sometimes think of HIV/AIDS as a global problem, it’s important to shine a light back on how it affects us at home. The New England Journal of Medicine recently revealed that 1 in 30 adults in Washington, D.C. are infected with HIV – a greater prevalence than the rates in Ethiopia, Rwanda, or Nigeria. What is the solution to this dilemma? According to Brad Ogilvie of the Mosaic Initiative, the answer is to get tested. In an article by Jennifer Grant in the Chicago Tribune, Ogilvie describes the mission and strategy of his organization.  Their...

7 Things You Should Do To Protect Agains...

AIDS or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, as we all know today is caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). The moment one is infected with HIV the human body starts to fight the infection by producing specific antibodies. The HIV/AIDS tests that are performed in laboratories or the home HIV test looks for these antibodies to detect the presence of HIV in the system. While not everyone who is infected with HIV may start to show any symptoms, it is a known fact that the HIV/AIDS virus tires and weakens the immune system over time. Other viruses, fungi and bacteria...

A History of the HIV Epidemic

HIV is a recent discovery and not much is known about its history prior to 1980. If HIV infection and AIDS did exist then it was marked by silence because human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was not known and infection did not manifest symptoms prominent enough to be noticed. Initial History of HIV What led to the discovery of HIV and consequently to AIDS was the sudden occurrence in 1981 of Kaposi’s Sarcoma, a rare and an indolent form of benign cancer usually associated with the elderly, in gay men in New York. At about the same time, in California, a sudden surge in...

5 Differences Between Anonymous and Conf...

Did you know that there is a difference between anonymous and confidential HIV testing?  There are actually a number of differences.  What we offer on our site is an anonymous home HIV test.  Read on to learn the differences between the two: 1.  Anonymous testing is not offered in every state. This is one of the reasons why the FDA Approved home HIV test is so important.  You simply cannot walk into a clinic and obtain an anonymous test in 11 states.  Your testing will still be accurate and confidential, but the anonymous testing option will not be available to you....

How Malden Is Targeting HIV

With HIV on the rise in Malden and Everett, Massachusetts, public officials have come up with an interesting new strategy on how to deal with the problem in their community.  It comes in a form that is probably familiar to you if you are, for example, on a tiny little social networking site called Facebook. An online survey! The goal is to get 500 people in the community to take it and use this information to better the serve the community and receive a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  As the Boston Globe describes in their story, the grant money would...