A World AIDS Day 2017 event will aim to boost awareness about ways to keep people from being infected with HIV and highlight how those with the virus are living longer, healthier lives.
Also, people living with HIV and those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses will be honored at the event, billed as the World AIDS Day 2017 Block Party. It’s from 3:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Friday at Pine Meadows Apartments, 2626 E. University Ave.
The free event is open to the public and will feature food, music, health screenings and games for kids.
“This World AIDS Day 2017, we have more resources than ever to prevent new HIV infections and improve the quality of life for people living with HIV,” said Paul Myers, director of the Alachua County Health Department.
The number of AIDS cases in Alachua County has decreased by 50 percent in the past decade, according to the Florida Department of Health’s website. There were 51 reported AIDS cases in the county in 2006 and 25 in 2016. There were 44 reported HIV cases in Alachua County in 2006 and 42 cases in 2016.
However, Alachua County’s rate of 9.7 reported AIDS cases per 100,000 residents in 2016 is higher than 51 of the state’s 67 counties. And the same year’s reported per-capita HIV infection rate of 16.3 cases per 100,000 people in Alachua County is higher than 50 other Florida counties.
HIV cases jumped up in 2014 and 2015, with 65 and 56 reported cases, respectively.
The Alachua County Health Department, along with health departments throughout the state, is working to make pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication available for free within the next year. The pill, taken once daily, can reduce the risk of acquiring HIV, and should be used along with condoms and other prevention methods to reduce the risk of becoming infected with HIV/AIDS.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the medication reduces the risk of contracting HIV by 90 percent.
“We really want people to know about our PrEP clinic, and the things they can do to prevent from becoming infected,” said Gay Koehler-Sides, health department program manager.
Prevention and better medicines have decreased the number of people who develop acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is a late symptomatic stage of the human immunodeficiency virus, Koehler-Sides said.
Though men who have sex with men are still most at risk to become infected with HIV, it doesn’t mean others can take becoming infected with HIV/AIDS lightly.
“HIV and AIDS do not discriminate,” Koehler-Sides said.