According to the government’s Office of Adolescent Health, adolescents who have sex early are less likely to use protection, putting them at a great

For the last few years we’ve been watching with alarm the rising rates of HIV infections here in the South. Back in the 1980s, AIDS was an urban issue, impacting places like New York City and Los Angeles. Today, the epicenter of the HIV epidemic has shifted to the South, including South Carolina and the greater Charleston region.

By the time the HIV/AIDS epidemic came to national consciousness in the 1980s, thousands of gay men were already infected and thousands more had already lost their lives. Let’s pause to re-visit the history of HIV/AIDS in America, paying homage to the generation of brothers, husbands, lovers, friends, artists, thinkers, and loved ones that we lost to this epidemic.

We’re taking time to look back at the early history of HIV/AIDS in America.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has taken note of what scientific research has confirmed over the last few years: when HIV-positive individuals take their medication and thus achieve undetectable levels of the virus, they are unlikely to spread HIV.

Even though HIV isn’t new, there are still so many questions about how it’s spread, the treatment and the people most at risk. Misconceptions and myths are everywhere, so it’s important to know the facts. Know how. Know now.

A significant medical advancement in the fight against HIV/AIDS is PrEP – short for pre-exposure prophylaxis. People who are at a significant risk of getting HIV can take a daily pill to greatly reduce their risk of infection.

We provide free HIV testing at Palmetto Community Care, administering more than 100 tests each month. Our services are critical in the fight against HIV. Too many people (about 1 in 5) are living with HIV and don’t know it. That means they may very likely be unknowingly spreading the disease.

People get an annual flu shot, women get annual mammograms, many more get cholesterol screenings and have their blood sugar checked. People think nothing of these routine health checks – except when it comes to getting a HIV test.

Many people may not think they need an HIV test because they don’t believe they are at risk. They may think HIV affects only gay men or drug users, but the truth is anyone who is sexually active is at risk for HIV.

The Centers for Disease Control recently changed its recommendation that people get tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) once every three months versus its previous recommendation of testing once every six months.

Palmetto Community Care was one of several local partners that joined Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg for the signing of the Paris Declaration on Fast-Track Cities to end the HIV epidemic and achieve the 90-90-90 HIV treatment targets by 2030 in Charleston and its surrounding areas.

Consider this: If current trends continue, about 1 in 2 black men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States will be diagnosed with HIV during their lifetime. That sobering statistic was released in 2016 by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.