The Charlottesville Health Department is offering free gonorrhea, chlamydia and rapid-response HIV testing in Newcomb Hall Wednesday.
This clinic is the second the Health Department has hosted, offering free, confidential tests to all University students and faculty. The first was held April during National STD awareness month.
Nicholas Mattsson, Health Counselor for the Virginia Department of Health, said the timing just seemed right for another testing fair. He said April’s clinic tested more than 50 students, and he is hoping to have more this time around. “[The spring fair] was so successful, we wanted to follow it up,” Mattson said.
The gonorrhea and chlamydia tests are simple urine analyses, and the student can either get the results by mail or by calling Student Health to receive them, Mattsson said. “The HIV test is also very simple, and results are returned in 15 minutes,” he said.
“If we were to get any positive results, students can get treatment at Student Health,” Mattsson said. “We did have positive cases last year, so it’s extremely important to get tested.”
The chlamydia test is especially important, as more than 70 percent of people who have the infection do not have symptoms. Students could be infected and unknowingly passing it to partners. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all sexually-active women ages 25 and younger get a chlamydia test at least once a year, as the disease can lead to infertility in women.
“These tests are really important for anyone who is or has been sexually active with more than one partner,” Mattsson said. “This started as an effort to get women tested, but we opened it up to everyone because women can obviously get it from their partners.”
The clinic is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Newcomb Hall’s Commonwealth Room.
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