Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Los Angeles Times - June 22, 2009
Nicole Santa Cruz
Testing will be available today from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Home Depot in North Hollywood, 8236 Balboa Blvd., and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Echo Park, off Echo Park and Laguna avenues. Clinics will offer free testing in other locations, including Huntington Park, Pasadena, Inglewood and Long Beach.
Sophia Rumanes, chief of prevention services for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said the program promotes and encourages early detection and the awareness of risk behaviors.
"We want to educate people," she said. "We want to let people know that HIV is still around, it's still an epidemic."
Last year, 1,800 people were tested throughout the week. This year, the county is aiming to test 2,000 people, Rumanes said.
HIV Testing Week runs from today through Saturday and is part of a public health campaign sponsored by the department to combat the disease. Each year, 3,100 people in L.A. County are infected with HIV, department officials said.
Of the 60,000 people living with AIDS in L.A. County, more than 60% are unaware of it, Rumanes said.
"We want people linked with treatment earlier than later," she said.
Click here for more information on testing sites and locations, or call (800) 367-2437 (AIDS).
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