Florida Department of Health Data on Black Women HIV Diagnoses in Pinellas County // FLHealthCHARTS 12/6/2024
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has identified west central Florida as one of the areas with the highest numbers of new HIV and AIDS cases each year. AHF has opened a new testing and treatment location in Tampa.
AHF provides HIV testing and treatments – usually without charge or covered by insurance. One of their doctors, Edward Braun, recommends that people get tested as soon as possible.
“We need to be able to educate the people in our community and help them to understand that this is still an ongoing problem and that there are things we can do to help prevent it,” Braun said.
He said there are around 35,000 new cases of HIV and AIDS each year in the U.S.
“Know your status, that’s number one most important. And then for the people that are positive, get you into care. Get you linked into some healthcare system that can help you with your condition and keep you healthy and keep you living a long, healthy life,” Braun said.
When left untreated, HIV can cause pneumonia, infections in the eyes, meningitis and infections around the brain.
To prevent these future health concerns, Braun recommends you get tested once a year if you’re in a monogamous long-term relationship. If you are not, he said depending how active you are, you should get tested every couple months.
Some symptoms the AHF said to look for are: chills, fatigue, fever, mouth sores, muscle aches, night sweats, rash, sore throat and swollen lymph nodes.
“Under the Affordable Care Act, medical treatment that is considered preventative in nature should be covered 100% through your insurance plan,” Braun said.
If you test positive, treatment can include medication to become undetectable, which can take one to six months.
If you are sexually active, Braun recommends preventative options like an injection every six months to become 99.9% protected.
AHF locations:
AHF Safety Harbor, 3135 FL-580, Suite One, Safety Harbor, FL 34695
AHF St. Petersburg, 3404 26th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, 33711
Out of the Closet Thrift Store, 3400 26th Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33711
New Facility, 4700 N Habana Avenue, Suite, 201, Tampa, FL, 33614