Pubdate: Mon, 12 Jun 2006 Source: Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ) Copyright: 2006 Newark Morning Ledger Co Contact: http://www.nj.com/starledger/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/424 Author: Allegra Tiver Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?143 (Hepatitis) GRIM ANNIVERSARY BRINGS NEW HEALTH EFFORT Attempts to reduce the incidence of HIV in New Jersey are being highlighted by public health advocates and agencies, as June marks 25 years since federal officials first reported the discovery of a condition that would come to be known as Auto-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced new guidelines that would require HIV tests to become a standard part of physical examinations. Federal health officials expect the guidelines, which would apply to all Americans between the ages of 13 and 64, to be issued this summer and become "as common as a cholesterol check." Approximately 250,000 people across the United States are living with HIV and are unaware of it, according to the National Association of People With AIDS. Many people who are HIV-positive do not experience symptoms for years. Waiting for the lab results of a blood test that draws from the arm - currently the most commonly used method to detect HIV - can take up to two weeks. "There is a lot of anxiety that goes along with a blood test," said Alicia Gambino, director of public education for the New Jersey Poison Control Center, an agency that runs the New Jersey AIDS/STD Hotline. A finger-stick HIV test - now being offered free of charge and anonymously at locations throughout the state - produces results in 20 minutes and is increasingly being used because of its fast turn-around time. "People are finding it a lot easier on themselves - 20 minutes of waiting, as opposed to a week or two that could seem like three years to some people," Gambino said. Testing site locations can be obtained 24 hours a day seven days a week through the New Jersey AIDS/STD hotline at (800) 624-2377. Meanwhile, the Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey is working to create syringe exchanges - locations where injection drug users can obtain sterile syringes and return dirty ones - to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and other blood-borne diseases. "These are basically full-service public health interventions that offer people referrals to drug treatment and other social services," said Roseanne Scotti, director of the Drug Policy Alliance. There are 160 syringe exchange programs in 39 states. Prevention Point Philadelphia is subcontracted by the city to run exchanges five days a week in various locales. New York City has 12 exchanges, run by various non-profit public health agencies. New Jersey has the fifth-highest number of adult HIV cases in the country, the third-highest rate of pediatric cases and the highest proportion of infected women, according to the alliance. The agency reported 45 percent of all HIV cases in New Jersey were caused by the sharing of contaminated syringes - twice the national average. Syringe access bills have been introduced in the state Legislature since 1993, but failed to pass each time. Atlantic City and the city of Camden passed ordinances seeking to establish exchanges in June 2004, but courts held that the cities would need state authorization. "It's a very stigmatized issue," Scotti said. "Drug use is something many people don't want to think about or deal with. Syringe access is really the last frontier in HIV prevention." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman