A new, free hepatitis C/HIV testing clinic is available in Keaau. ADVERTISING A new, free hepatitis C/HIV testing clinic is available in Keaau. The clinic, at the Hawaii Island HIV/AIDS Foundation office, 16-204 Melekahiwa St., Suite 1 (next to Easter
A new, free hepatitis C/HIV testing clinic is available in Keaau.
The clinic, at the Hawaii Island HIV/AIDS Foundation office, 16-204 Melekahiwa St., Suite 1 (next to Easter Seals), is open 4-8 p.m. every Tuesday night until further notice.
“Right now, it will be every Tuesday night until … we don’t know how long. It will last as long as we have interest,” said Hawaii Island HIV/AIDS Foundation Executive Director Bruce Merrell.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 156,000 Americans have undiagnosed HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
The CDC, for several years, has recommended “everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once as part of routine health care.” Among Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, the CDC says, 58 individuals were diagnosed with HIV in 2014; 19 were diagnosed with AIDS.
“(Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders) had the fourth-highest estimated rates of HIV diagnosis (10.6 per 100,000 people) in the United States by race/ethnicity, behind blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos and those of multiple races,” the CDC says online.
The rate for the state’s general population reached 12.4 per 100,000 in 2014, according to the state Department of Health. There were 468 people diagnosed with HIV in the state between 2010 and 2014, with 11 percent of the total being diagnosed in Hawaii County, according to DOH data.
Health officials asked primary care physicians to include HIV testing whenever routine lab work is ordered. The goal is to make affected individuals aware so they can get treatment that can prevent HIV from progressing to potentially fatal AIDS.
Early, consistent treatment can extend life expectancy to near normal, Merrell said. Early diagnosis also can allow education so infected individuals learn how to protect others.
Merrell said health officials also are especially concerned about the potential of hepatitis C in senior citizens. Hepatitis C, if left untreated, can cause liver disease. But it’s “very, very treatable” if detected through testing before liver disease develops, Merrell said.
People old enough to remember getting the polio vaccination, especially, should get tested for hepatitis C, he said.
According to MayoClinic.org, for hepatitis C, “the largest group at-risk includes everyone born between 1945 and 1965 — a population five times more likely to be infected than those born in other years.”
For HIV, Merrell said, “the CDC recommends testing at least once for that older population, just to make sure.”
The HIV/AIDS Foundation Tuesday evening testing clinic’s target population is elderly individuals for hepatitis C and HIV testing.
The clinic also hopes to increase the number of people getting tested who have an HIV-related risk factor, such as health care workers; people who have been sexually assaulted; men; women who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant; gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men; injectable drug users; anyone who has exchanged sex for food, shelter, drugs or money; economically disadvantaged individuals; anyone who has had a sexually transmitted infection; sex workers; young people ages 13-24; transgender individuals; people who have been incarcerated; people who have had sex with someone who is part of a high-risk group; people age 55 and older; and those who have had sex with an individual who is HIV-positive.
Anyone can get tested at the Tuesday evening clinic, even though its primary goal is to serve high-risk individuals.
The CDC says as of 2010, men accounted for 80 percent of new infections of HIV, and most of those infections occurred in individuals ages 25-34, except among black Americans, with 38 percent of their new infections occurring in individuals ages 13-24.
The CDC also recommends all pregnant women get tested for HIV because treatment early in pregnancy can reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to the baby to 1 percent or less.
Transgender women (women who have transitioned, or are in the process of transitioning, from male to female) are at high risk of contracting HIV, with 56 percent of black/African American transgender women in a 2013 meta-analysis testing positive, “compared to 17 percent of white or 16 percent of Hispanic/Latino transgender women.”
About 1 in 4 people with HIV in the United States are women, with most new diagnoses attributed to heterosexual sex, and 13 percent to injectable drug use.
“HIV can affect anyone regardless of sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, gender or age. However, certain groups are at higher risk for HIV and merit special consideration because of particular risk factors,” the CDC says online.
“The testing is free here,” Merrell said. “It is confidential.”
Testing, which includes a quick prick of the finger, takes about 20 minutes total for either hepatitis C or HIV.
If you do not have health insurance, the clinic can make health insurance available to you. If you test positive, each tester is a trained HIV counselor and will provide counseling and referral to a physician who specializes in treating HIV. Even people who test negative often need counseling.
“We are here,” Merrell said. “The foundation wants to help. If you have questions, give us a call.”
Tests also can be done, at the same location, during normal workday hours.
For questions, call 982-8800 in Hilo or 331-8177 in Kona. There is a testing site in both locations.
Email Jeff Hansel at jhansel@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
