South Carolina's Fetter Health Care Network is offering rapid HIV testing for little or no cost to its patients and recommding all sexually active adults get tested.
Fetter clinics charge customers based on their ability to pay. The rapid HIV tests, which includes lab work and a consultation with a physician, may be free for some patients or cost less than $30, depending on their income.
"Early detection is key to effective HIV treatment, so it is advisable to be tested even if you are not experiencing symptoms,” said Virginia King, community affairs coordinator for the Fetter Health Care Network.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that of the 1.1 million people with HIV in the United States more than 200,000 are unaware that they are positive. According to the South Carolina health department, more than 16,000 residents are living with HIV in the state. More than 9,200 South Carolinians have died from the virus since the early 1980s.
Fetter Health Care Network recommends that injection drug users and everyone who is sexually active, especially those with multiple partners, be tested for HIV.
The rapid tests are available at the network’s clinics in Charleston, Walterboro, Cross, Hollywood and Summerville.
Lowcountry AIDS Services also offers free HIV testing for all patients at its Charleston clinic.
