In coordination with World AIDS Day, Pat Walker Health Center and the Washington County Health Unit have teamed up to offer free HIV testing for the campus community.

The free testing event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4, in the Arkansas Union.

World AIDS Day—held annually on Dec. 1— provides an opportunity to celebrate and support global efforts to prevent new HIV infections, increase HIV awareness and knowledge, and support those living with HIV.

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. If not treated, the virus can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS. In the United States, HIV is mainly spread through sex or sharing needles with someone infected.

Although there is still no effective cure for HIV, the virus can be controlled with proper medical treatment. If diagnosed and treated early, a person with HIV can live nearly as long as someone who does not have HIV.

Knowing your HIV status can help keep you — and others — safe.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is estimated that 1.1 million people have HIV in the U.S.; and 1 in 7 of them don't know they have the virus.

The CDC recommends everyone ages 13 to 64 should get tested for HIV at least once and more frequently for those at a higher-risk of contracting the virus.

While anyone can be infected with the virus, there are more prevention strategies than ever to help protect against HIV. Using strategies such as abstinence, limiting the number of sexual partners, never sharing needles, and using condoms the right way, can lower the risk.

Learn more about how to protect yourself with the CDC's HIV Risk Reduction Tool.