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The Florida Department of Health works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, and community efforts.
World AIDS Day - Let's End It
November 07, 2017
Nov. 7, 2017
World AIDS Day – Let’s End It
Free HIV testing and educational event will be held November 30, 2017
Contact:
Jennifer S. Sexton
Jennifer.Sexton@flhealth.gov
941-624-7279
Port Charlotte, Fla. – The Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County will be offering free HIV and STD testing in recognition of World AIDS Day from 9 a.m. to noon on November 30, 2017 at Edgewater United Methodist Church, 19190 Cochran Blvd., Port Charlotte.
World AIDS Day is a day dedicated to commemorating those who have passed on and to raise awareness about AIDS and the global spread of the HIV virus. It is recognized annually on December 1st. “You can help end HIV transmission by taking advantage of this free testing opportunity,” said Dr. Frank Louis Lepore, Administrator for the Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County. “If you test positive for HIV, you can begin treatment and reduce the possibility of spreading the virus to others. Let’s end it.”
Currently, no effective cure for HIV exists, but HIV can be controlled with proper treatment and medical care. The medicine used to treat HIV is called antiretroviral therapy or ART. If taken the right way, every day, this medicine can dramatically prolong the lives of many people with HIV, keep them healthy, and greatly reduce the risk of viral transmission to others. The only way to know for sure if you have HIV is to be tested.
AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection, and not everyone who has HIV advances to this stage.
The World AIDS Day event will include free health screenings for HIV, Hepatitis C and other STDs, as well as health education, and a memorial tree. For additional information please call Cheryl Adams at 941-624-7200 extension 7265.
About the Florida Department of Health
The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.
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