page-39.html
0419 April
40 / 84
insects, and it is not transmitted through the air. why is
baton
rouge
one of the highest ranked places? how can we change this? smith-davis believes that the primary reason we continue to rank with the highest numbers is about stigma. ?unless we address not only the basic stigmas about
hiv
, but also the stigmas related to the kinds of sex that puts folks at risk, as well as intravenous drug use, we will continue to have those numbers,? says smith-davis. rev. aj johnson, founder of the
baton
rouge
aids society, attributes
baton
rouge
?s high numbers to three things: lack of education, lack of access to free screening, and lack of involvement in the community. ?in the 80s, it was common to see individuals fighting and marching for aids prevention and patient rights. now that it?s not the ?in? thing, no one wants to get involved,? says rev. johnson. he believes community involvement would help, and he encourages people to volunteer, donate, and most importantly, for everyone to know their own
hiv
status. knowing your status is crucial. how important is
hiv
testing? if you have placed yourself at risk for
hiv
, the only way to tell you are infected is from an
hiv
test. rev. johnson says
hiv
testing is critical, and the most important thing everyone can do is know their own
hiv
status, otherwise you are part of the problem. with the testing available today, you can get results within 20 minutes. are children
hiv
positive in our community? according to robert johannessen at the louisiana department of health, there are less than 20 children in the
baton
rouge
area living with
hiv
. thankfully, this number is small, however, part of eliminating the stigmas associated with
hiv
starts with the children. ?kids living with
hiv
are still just kids, you treat them all the same,? says smith- davis. when age-appropriate, parents can educate their children about this, and assure them that if there is an accident with a child at school, standard universal precautions that are in place at school should help prevent the need for any special precautions. according to smith-davis, schools will not notify other parents, and parents need only disclose their child?s status if they want to or if there is a specific reason the school would need to know. children living with
hiv
in our community may receive outpatient, family- centered primary and specialty medical care through part d of the federal ryan white program, according to sholanda bradley, director of
hiv
services for family service of greater
baton
rouge
. what happens to a baby who is born with
hiv
? when a baby is born from an infected mother, the baby is considered exposed to
hiv
. bradley says these babies go through a series of tests, and receive a medication called zidovudine (retrovir) within 6-12 hours after birth. ?this combined with other medications when necessary, protects the babies from infection with any 4 0 b r p a r e n t s . c o m | 2 0 1 9
hiv-community-testing-41.html
