(1888PressRelease)
March 09, 2008 - Each year, more than 40,000 Americans are newly infected with HIV, including thousands of women. Many of them do not know it because they have never been tested.
Some women neglect to get tested because they do not realize that they are at risk. This may be particularly true of older women who came of age in the decades before AIDS and did not receive the information about HIV prevention and risk that their daughters did.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 1 million Americans are now living with HIV and that one-fourth of those who are HIV-positive do not know they are infected.
“Notjustthekitchen.com, a web site geared to Baby-Boomer Women, is concerned about issues affecting the health and welfare of women in our country,” said Rita Morgan, Founder and CEO of Notjustthekitchen.com. “HIV/AIDS is taking an increasing toll on women, including women over the age of 50, and we want to do our part to help stop the spread of this deadly disease.”
Monday, March 10 is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day to raise awareness of the devastating impact HIV/AIDS is having on women across the United States. We want to use this day to connect with people and inform them on how HIV affects people of all ages.
The campaign, called the National HIV Testing Mobilization Campaign (NHTMC), encourages all sexually active Americans to get tested for HIV as part of their routine health care. The campaign is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of HIV/AIDS Policy.
Many older Americans have not been tested for HIV because they do not perceive themselves to be at risk. However, approximately 15 percent of new HIV diagnoses are among Americans over age 50.
By partnering with NHTMC, notjustthekitchen.com is encouraging all of its visitors to get tested for HIV.
“Many people think that HIV/AIDS does not affect older people, but this is simply not true,” said Morgan. “Testing will help reach many people of all ages who are unaware of their infection, including women who are part of the notjustthekitchen.com community.”
To learn more about HIV testing and to find HIV testing locations across the country, visit the CDC HIV testing Web site (www.hivtest.org) or call 800-CDC-INFO (232-4636).
