Private MD News

Manager: More STD tests for African-American community

Category: HIV

While the prevalence of people infected with HIV remains high, it appears to be an increasingly growing problem within the African-American community.

When compared to whites, African-American men and women are more likely to have the virus, according to an article appearing on Cincinnati.com. Black women make up 61 percent of newly diagnosed female HIV patients in the U.S. and black men make up 46 percent of all newly diagnosed men.

Eric Washington, the STD/HIV program manager for the Cincinnati Health Department, told the news provider that the key to halt the spread of this disease was for more people to get an STD test.

"We need to come up with a better way to convey the message to the community that they are affected by HIV, and they need to be tested," Washington said.

Recently, it was reported that MTV's Get Yourself Tested program, which launched in April during STD awareness month, was successful in convincing young adults and teenagers to get STD tests.

For people who don't want to go to a clinic or a doctor's office to get a test, online STD tests are available and confidential.