Lake County Health Department Promotes AIDS Awareness

In observance of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, the Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center will participate in the nationwide movement "Share Knowledge. Take Action" to raise awareness of the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS among women and girls.

The public is invited to a free event on Monday, March 11, in the lobby of the Belvidere Medical Building, 2400 Belvidere Rd. in Waukegan, from noon to 4 p.m.

During the event, information, screening and education about transmission and prevention, and care and treatment of HIV will be provided. Information about viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections will also be available.

"Women of all ages are at risk for HIV/AIDS and account for 24 percent of all HIV diagnoses," said Irene Pierce, the Lake Health Department's Executive Director. "Today, women of all ages represent a larger percentage of those living with HIV than at the beginning of the epidemic."

Nearly 280,000 women live with HIV/AIDS in the United States. Women of color account for 64 percent of new AIDS diagnoses among women. African American and Latina women are disproportionately affected at all stages of HIV infection, compared to women of other races and ethnicities. Most women are infected through sexual activity.

For more information on National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, visit: www.womenshealth.gov/NWGHAAD/.

The Health Department's Sexually Transmitted Infections Program offers free HIV counseling and testing Monday through Friday at the Belvidere Medical Building, 2400 Belvidere Road in Waukegan.

Information about viral hepatitis and screening for other sexually transmitted infections is also available. For more information, contact the Lake County Health Department at (847) 377-8450.

Submitted by the Lake County Health Department