FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH IN LAKE COUNTY TO HOST 6th ANNUAL WORLD AIDS DAY CELEBRATION OF LIFE 

Lake County– The Florida Department of Health in Lake County will host their 6th Annual World AIDS day celebration of life at Donnelly Park located at 530 N. Donnelly Street in Mount Dora on Wednesday, December 2^nd from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM.  HIV testing and Hepatitis B vaccinations will be provided at no cost.  The event is free and open to the public.

World AIDS Day is a global campaign to end AIDS and help bring awareness of the disease worldwide. First organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1988, the World AIDS Day theme for 2015 is “Getting to Zero, Zero new infections, Zero AIDS related deaths, and Zero discrimination”.   World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away.

Florida ranks first in the nation in the number of AIDS cases and at the end of February 2015 a total of 104,342 adults in Florida were living with HIV/AIDS.  It is important to know that every 9 ½ minutes, another person in the United States becomes infected with HIV.  HIV/AIDS knows no boundaries; it affects all of us, regardless of our race, gender, or income.  That is why it is important to “Take the Test, Take Control.”

In addition to the free rapid 20-minute testing offered at the event, the Florida Department of Health in Lake County can perform a mouth swab to test for HIV, which will be sent to the State laboratory.  Results are available in approximately 3 weeks.  For more information, please contact the Florida Department of Health’s Disease Control Program office at 352-771-5547.

About the Florida Department of Health

The department works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

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