Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Across The Nation

More Than 1,000 Chicago Teenagers Receive HIV Test at Annual Teen Test Day

      More than 1,000 Chicago teenagers were tested for HIV on Saturday as part of the second annual Teen Test Day at the South Shore Cultural Center, the Chicago Tribune reports. Many of the teenagers said they are not sexually active but believed it was a good idea to receive the no-cost tests, the Tribune reports. Regina Hampton, a case manager for the Circle Family HealthCare Network who administered the tests, said, "It's good to get [teens] in the habit [of being tested for HIV] even if they haven't been sexually active."

Organizers of the event said that in recent years, about half of new HIV infections have been reported among adults younger than age 25, with the highest infection rate among black teenagers. Teen Test Day is sponsored by the Chicago-based youth group Metropolitan Area Group for Igniting Civilization (Owen, Chicago Tribune, 1/4).