Private MD News

Colleges make HIV testing more available

Category: HIV

College campuses are notorious for offering optimal conditions for the spread of sexually transmitted disease. Students often have multiple sexual partners and can be less attentive to their health. However, many schools are working to turn this reputation around by offering free HIV testing to their students.

School officials at the University of Central Florida recently announced through the school's news website that its Health Center will begin offering free HIV testing for all students, faculty and staff.

Officials told the news site that they hope the initiative will encourage more students to seek testing, which could help the school reduce the number of new infections discovered on its campus. The center is offering a blood test that can deliver results within 20 minutes.

As rates of infection continue to rise, public health officials have advocated for making HIV testing more available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that this may be the most effective way to curb the spread of the disease.

The CDC estimates that there are currently more than 1 million individuals in the U.S. living with the disease, and that as much as 20 percent of these people are unaware of their condition.