Rapid HIV Testing

The AIDS Center of Queens County's Counseling, Testing, and Referral program, provided through the Health Education and Prevention Department, is designed to provide a continuum of sexual health related services integrated with HIV testing that will support continued risk reduction behavior by all clients regardless of their HIV status. The CTR program will also facilitate access to early intervention information and treatment for those who test positive for HIV or any other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

ACQC's HIV testing program strives to:

- Enhance the value of HIV counseling and testing as a primary prevention tool by incorporating testing into a continuum of supportive services designed to help HIV-negative individuals to maintain good health and to avoid behaviors that could transmit the virus.

- Enhance the value of HIV testing as an early intervention tool by providing a comprehensive range of services to enable HIV-positive individuals to learn about and access treatment options and appropriate health care, and obtain entitlements or benefits that will enable them to cover treatment costs.

- Enhance the value of testing for STI's by providing supportive counseling and testing services designed to raise a client's awareness of their risk, support them in their desire to reduce their risk, and assist them in the ongoing maintenance of their specified goals.

- Provide individuals at risk an accessible, high-quality counseling and testing program to assist them in their decision to test for HIV and other STI's.

THE BEST WAY TO KNOW WHETHER YOU ARE INFECTED: HIV-ANTIBODY COUNSELING AND TESTING

The HIV-antibody test is the only way to tell if you are infected. You cannot tell by looking at someone if he or she carries HIV. Someone can look and feel perfectly healthy and still be infected. In fact, an estimated one-third of those who are HIV-positive do not know it. Neither do their sex partners.

When HIV enters the bloodstream, it begins to attack certain white blood cells called T4 lymphocyte cells (helper cells). The immune system then produces antibodies to fight off the infection. Although these antibodies are ineffective in destroying HIV, their presence in the blood is used to confirm HIV infection. Testing can tell you whether or not you have developed antibodies to HIV.

You should receive counseling before and after taking the HIV-antibody test. This counseling will help you understand the results of your test, learn how to protect your health, and (if you are infected) gain the knowledge of how to prevent passing the virus to others. Regardless of your HIV status, counseling should be a central part of the testing process.

Should I seek HIV Counseling and Testing?

If you have engaged in behavior that can transmit HIV, it is very important that you consider counseling and testing. The following checklist will help you assess your degree of risk.

If I think I have been exposed to HIV, how soon can I get tested?

To find out when you should be tested, discuss it with your testing site staff or personal physician.

The test commonly used to detect HIV infection actually looks for antibodies produced by your body to fight HIV. Most people will develop detectable antibodies within 3 months after infection, the average being 20 days. In rare cases, it can take up to 6 months.

It would be extremely uncommon to take longer than 6 months to develop detectable antibodies. For this reason, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends getting tested 6 months after the last possible exposure to the virus. (It is possible to be exposed during unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex; as well as when sharing needles).

It is important, during the 6 months between exposure and the test, to protect yourself and others from further possible exposures to HIV.

Who should get an HIV test?

• Counseling and early diagnosis of HIV infection are recommended for:
• Persons attending sexually-transmitted disease clinics and drug treatment clinics;
• Persons who have had multiple partners and had unprotected anal, oral or vaginal sex;
• Partners of infection drug users (either spouses, sex partners, or needle-sharing partners);
• Women of childbearing age; TB patients; and patients who received transfusions of blood or blood components between early 1978 and mid-1985.

In addition, people considering marriage should seek information about AIDS, as well as voluntary counseling and testing.

The President also has mandated the screening of immigrants entering the United States , Foreign Service personnel, and inmates of Federal prisons.

Program Hours

The AIDS Center of Queens County will conduct confidential rapid testing through the HIV testing program on the following dates and times:

For more information, or to schedule an appointment, please call 718-896-2500.