May 29, 2012

The Latino HIV Task Force will offer free HIV tests, blood pressure and blood glucose screenings and health counseling at a community health fair sponsored as part of National HIV Testing Day.

The health fair is set from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 16 at church Iglesia Fuente de Vida, 7029 Appleton Street. Tests and screenings are open to people age 15 and older.

National HIV Testing Day is an annual campaign that encourages people to take an HIV test. It will be officially observed this year on June 27.

Hispanics in Houston and Harris County represent 23 percent of the 20,329 HIV infections reported to the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS) since 1999. They also make up 19 percent of the 28,360 local AIDS cases reported to the department since the start of the epidemic in 1981.

The task force is comprised of numerous health agencies and community-based organizations that administer HIV and AIDS prevention programs or medical treatment and various community organizations. HDHHS convened the task force in 2002 to help increase education and awareness of HIV, AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases among Hispanics.