Health professionals are encouraging people across Dorset to get themselves tested for HIV.
As part of national HIV Testing Week, which runs from 22 to 29 November, Public Health Dorset is renewing calls for people to take a HIV test.
In the UK, there are about 100,000 people living with HIV, with roughly one in four unaware they are HIV positive.
The test is free, confidential and voluntary. A blood sample will be taken and results are available within a week or two.
Kevin Turner who is a sexual health advisor at Over the Rainbow, a service which provides specialist sexual health advice and HIV testing in Dorset, said:
“It’s important for people to get tested regularly for any sexual health infection, especially if they have changed partners or are at a higher risk of contracting HIV.”
“Early diagnosis of HIV makes it a lot more manageable and helps to stop further spread of the condition.”
To support the testing week programme, there will be a number of events across the county to highlight the benefits of being tested for HIV. This week will culminate in Worlds Aids Day on 1 December.
People can receive a HIV test at various venues, including: the GUM services in Bournemouth and Weymouth hospitals and at Boots in the Dolphin Centre, Poole, on a Saturday morning.
Further information about when other clinics are available and sexual health advice, visit: www.f-risky.co.uk and www.keeplovesweet.com
