The Gay Straight Alliance, the Office of Gay and Lesbian Programs and the Central Michigan District Health Department are sponsoring the program, which will educate and offer HIV testing.

Information tables will be set up outside the Bovee University Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Friday to guide anyone who may be interested in getting tested.

Graduate student Julie Wright, GSA co-president, said this is the first time anyone has publicized National HIV Testing Day on campus.

“It’s always important in every community to get tested, but it’s especially important on campus because they don’t teach enough of it early on,” Wright said. “People come to campus and don’t know what’s gong on.”

The CMDHD, 2012 E. Preston St., will offer testing Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. by walk-in or scheduled appointment, said Chris Lauckner, CMDHD health educator.

“Basically people can just walk in, sign in and they’ll meet with one of our certified state counselors and it would take approximately 25 minutes,” he said. “A person who does test would need to return in two weeks for the test results.”

Wright said the testing is free and anonymous. OraSure testing will be used, which is just as accurate as needle testing, she said.

“It’s like a small toothbrush, but in place of the bristles, there’s a sponge and you rub it on your gums and that’s how they get a sample of your tissue,” she said.

Wright said she was a member of the Columbus Aids Task Force for three years at Ohio State University. She also worked for the HIV/AIDS hotline while there, and is a certified AIDS educator.

She said many people have misconceptions about the seriousness of HIV.

“HIV is always a big deal,” she said. “The difference between HIV and AIDS is simply a classification of a blood cell count.”

HIV harms the body’s immune system by attacking helper T cells or CD4 cells, which are a part of the body’s natural line of defense against illness.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, healthy people have between 500 and 1,500 T cells in a milliliter of blood. An HIV infected person has progressed to AIDS when that number has fallen below 200, leaving the body unable to defend itself against certain cancers, viruses, bacteria or parasites.

Lauckner said approximately 15,500 people are living with HIV or AIDS in Michigan today.

“It’s been estimated that approximately 300,000 people in the U.S. are HIV infected and do not know it, and that’s one of the reason for HIV Testing Day,” he said.

Lauckner said nationally there are 40,000 new HIV infections every year and 950,000 infected people are living within the U.S. right now.

Nearly half of all newly infected people are under the age of 25, he said.

“The bottom line is the earlier the detection the better the probability that a person will experience better health for a longer period of time,” Lauckner said.

Lauckner said anyone who has had unprotected sex or shared needles should be tested so they can have general knowledge of their status.

“The other issue is that hopefully people as they think through their sexual history, they’re also looking out for the health of their respective partners as well,” he said.

“One of the things we’ve advertised in the past is that obviously zero people are cured from the disease,” he said.

HIV — the Human Immunodeficiency Virus — is the virus that causes the syndrome known as AIDS (Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome.) According to the CDC, on average a person infected with HIV will develop AIDS within 10 years.

HIV is spread primarily through an exchange of certain bodily fluids. A woman infected with HIV can pass HIV to her baby through pregnancy or delivery, and also through breast milk.

According to the CDC, contact with saliva, tears or sweat has never resulted in HIV transmission, and a person cannot be infected through casual contact such as hugging or shaking hands.

HIV/AIDS is preventable and it is treatable. If left untreated, HIV will lead to AIDS and death.

For more information, visit www.knowhivaids.org. To schedule an appointment at the CMDHD call 773-5921 ext. 109.