Hayden McKee
The Community HIV Education & Prevention (CHEP) program has a new campaign: Rapid Road Show. The campaign is underway as it cruises across Queensland spreading the message of HIV awareness and free rapid HIV testing.
With HIV infection rates having doubled in the past decade and reports indicate that infection rates are sharply rising in a Queensland.
In a statement released by the E.N.D H.I.V campaign, a spokesperson said that new cases of infection could rise a further 30% if greater preventative action isn’t taken.
The Rapid Road Show is an Australian first, with two buses travelling from Cairns to Burleigh with stops at major metropolitan and rural areas.
HIV Foundation Queensland’s Chairperson, Dr Darren Russell is surprised with the positive attention that the rapid road show has received so far.
“We are only four days into the campaign… and so far we have had lots of people turning up to the van and lots of interest in HIV,” Dr Russell said.
Rapid HIV testing is a reliable and quick way to check your HIV status, with Dr Russell saying that it works in a similar way to a pregnancy test.
“We drop one drop of blood on to a plastic testing strip… we then let it sit there for 20 minutes” Dr Russell said.
A full list of locations and dates for the Rapid Road Show can be found here.