Menino marks National HIV Testing Day

June 27 was National HIV Testing Day, and Mayor Menino did his part by getting himself tested at JRI Health in Downtown Boston, where he was joined by officials from the Boston Public Health Commission, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and representatives of several community health agencies. Menino joined dozens of mayors across the country in raising awareness about HIV screening as part of the fourth annual Mayors Campaign Against HIV.

"Without a cure, prevention is our best hope to stop the spread of the disease,'' Menino said. "People need to get tested so they'll know their HIV status and not unknowingly contribute to the transmission of the virus.''

Other local agencies, including AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, Codman Square Health Center, Fenway Community Health Center, and the Latino Health Institute, extended their hours of operations to conduct screenings into the evening. OraSure Technologies, Inc. and the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA) donated 500 rapid testing kits to the Boston agencies, part of the total of over 20,000 kits they donated nationwide.

There were 5,571 known cases of people living with HIV/AIDS in Boston as of May 1, according to city and state health officials. Men who have sex with other men account for nearly 53 percent of all new HIV cases, while women make up 24 percent. Black women and Latinas account for 63 percent and 16 percent, respectively, of all newly reported HIV cases among women in Boston.

In response, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced the first new HIV testing campaign from the state in four years. Titled, "Get Talking, Get Tested,'' the campaign targets African American and other black residents in five cities with the highest rates of new HIV infection: Boston, Springfield, Worcester, Lynn, and Brockton.