WASHINGTON, June 26 (UPI) -- More than 250,000 people in the United States are HIV positive and do not know it. At least several thousand of them will get tested for the virus Tuesday, public health officials hope.
June 27 is National HIV Testing Day, marking a large-scale public awareness campaign to get Americans into clinics and no longer ignorant about their HIV status.
"AIDS is still a health emergency, and we cannot pretend otherwise," National Association of People with AIDS Executive Director Frank Oldham said. "Few are addressing the issue ... with dollars and programs."
This year 18 mayors of major U.S. cities have officially proclaimed HIV Testing Day in their cities. While the tradition has been around since 1995, organizers are hopeful it will pick up momentum this time around.
"We can put a stop to the spread of HIV," said Douglas Michaels, the chief executive officer of OraSure -- a company that makes the only Food and Drug Administration-approved oral HIV test.
Michaels' company has donated more than 15,000 test kits to health clinics around the country. The OraQuick Advance -- an oral HIV test that takes about 20 minutes to complete -- is relatively inexpensive, generally costing under $20 each.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is helping underwrite the costs of new tests for community-based clinics, according to Julie Scofield, who runs the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors.
Approximately 1 million Americans are HIV positive, according to the CDC. That number is growing steadily -- there are approximately 40,000 new cases in the United States each year.
But according to Oldham, several studies show that those who know they are HIV positive are more likely to use condoms. If more people get tested for the virus, the rate at which it is spreading should decline.
"It's still exploding around us," said Regan Hoffman, the editor of POZ Magazine, a publication for HIV-positive readers. "If you know your status, you are not going to infect other people."
This year a number of elected officials have come out in support of more widespread HIV testing. Four members of Congress introduced a resolution last year supporting National HIV Testing Day. First lady Laura Bush has also spoken in favor of greater HIV awareness.
"In a nation where over a quarter of a million people are unaware that they have HIV/AIDS, expanding HIV counseling and testing is critical to stopping this disease," Representative Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said in a statement. "I join NAPWA in encouraging everyone who is concerned or unaware of their HIV status to get tested today."
This year's initiative will also usher in several new public service advertisements encouraging more HIV testing, developed by the CDC and Black Entertainment Television.
"I don't want to happen to (others) what has happened to me," said Anthony Richardson, who is HIV positive and director of Positive Perceptions for People with Disabilities. "Because I waited to get tested, I wasn't diagnosed with HIV -- I was diagnosed with AIDS."
Despite the public support National HIV Testing Day has received, Scofield said the epidemic needs even more attention -- and funds to fight it.
"We have very scarce resources for prevention," Scofield said.
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