Take the Test & Take the Next Step: Check your status and know.

(Santa Ana, CA) - National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) is June 27 and Orange County (OC) residents are encouraged to “Take the Test & Take the Next Step” to know your status for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). Knowing your status is the first step to engaging in prevention or treatment services that enable individuals, regardless of your status, to live a long and healthy life.

The OC Health Care Agency (HCA) along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people between 13 and 64 years of age get tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, at least once as part of routine health care. For those at high risk of HIV, men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender individuals, and persons who inject drugs, the recommendation is for testing at least once per year as part of routine health care. If you have been waiting or thinking about getting tested for HIV, now’s the time.

If you have never been tested for HIV, ask your health care provider for an HIV test. For those who test negative and are at high risk for HIV, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a medication to prevent HIV is available. In addition to health care providers throughout Orange County, the following agencies offer free confidential HIV testing and free or low-cost PrEP services:

• APAIT Health Center: Testing is offered Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call (714) 636-1349 or visit www.apaitonline.org/ for more information. In recognition of NHTD, testing hours will be extended from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and walk-ins are encouraged on Tuesday, June 27. In addition, APAIT will be participating in The Greater Than AIDS campaign (www.greaterthan.org) offering free HIV testing in partnership with Walgreens located at 12001 Euclid St., Garden Grove, CA 92840 and Walgreens located at 128 S. State College Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92806 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on NHTD at both Walgreens locations.
• OC Health Care Agency/17th Street Testing & Treatment Clinic: Walk-ins accepted based on availability. Clinic hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call (714) 834-8787 to make an appointment or visit http://www.ochealthinfo.com/std for more information.
• Radiant Health Centers: Walk-ins accepted. Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call (949) 809-8764 or visit www.radianthealthcenters.org for more information.
• The LGBTQ Center Orange County: Testing is offered Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. To make an appointment or for more information call (714) 953-5428 or visit www.lgbtqcenteroc.org/. A special gift will be offered to those who test on Tuesday, June 27 in celebration of NHTD.

For HIV self-testing, the TakeMeHome Program offers free confidential HIV self-test kits that can be ordered online for individuals (17 or older) who are at risk for HIV and have never tested or who have not tested in the past six months: https://takemehome.org.
 
For more testing sites and information about HIV services in Orange County, please call (714) 834-8335 or visit www.ochealthinfo.com/phs/about/dcepi/hiv/sites.   
 
HIV in Orange County:

1. At the end of 2022, there were 6,916 people living with HIV in Orange County.
2. The CDC estimates that an additional 1,288 Orange County residents have HIV and don’t know it, and some will develop AIDS before knowing they have HIV.
3. During 2022, there were 259 Orange County residents newly diagnosed with AIDS. Of those, 22% (or 57) learned they had HIV at the same time, indicating they were living with HIV for many years before getting ill. Many had been to a health care setting like an emergency room, a community health center, or their doctor, but were not tested for HIV. A simple HIV test and treatment can prevent HIV from progressing to AIDS.
4. Advances in HIV treatment have resulted in people living with HIV living longer and having fewer medical conditions directly related to HIV and AIDS. In 2022, 77% of individuals living with HIV in Orange County received care. Of the 259 individuals newly diagnosed in 2022, 76% were linked to care in 30 days or less.

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As the summer travel season begins, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to remind clinicians and public health officials to provide guidance for measles prevention to international travelers and to be on alert for cases of measles. Guidance is also provided for people planning international travel. Measles (rubeola) is extremely contagious; one person infected by measles can infect 9 out of 10 of their unvaccinated close contacts. As of June 8, 2023, CDC has been notified of 16 confirmed U.S. cases of measles across 11 jurisdictions, with 14 (88%) linked to international travel. Based on current estimates, twice as many Americans are planning to travel internationally in 2023 compared with 2022. Many countries and popular travel destinations, such as London, England, have experienced measles outbreaks in recent years. The United States has seen an increase in measles cases during the first 5 months of 2023, with 16 reported cases compared with 3 in 2022 during the same period. Most of these cases were among children who had not received measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. To prevent measles infection and spread from importation, all U.S. residents should be up to date on their MMR vaccinations, especially prior to international travel regardless of the destination.

The full CDC HAN can be found at the following link: https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2023/han00493.asp

(Santa Ana, CA) - To elevate awareness and help prevent a resurgence of MPOX in Orange County, the OC Health Care Agency (HCA) is sponsoring the Health and Wellness Zone (Zone) at the OC PRIDE Festival on Saturday, June 24, in downtown Santa Ana. The Zone is a new feature for the festival and the HCA’s Public Health Services (PHS) will offer no-cost MPOX vaccinations. In addition, the HCA’s Mental Health and Recovery Services (MHRS) will provide information on connecting via the OC Navigator to the variety of resources that are available to OC’s LGBTQ+ residents.

“The HCA is taking an active role in promoting public and mental health with our commitment to making MPOX vaccinations available during the festival,” said Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, County Health Officer and Chief of PHS. “It’s important for everyone who wants the MPOX vaccine to understand this is a 2-dose regimen, so make sure you complete the process for the best protection. The second dose should be taken 4 weeks after the first dose,” she said.

The HCA’s MPOX vaccination booth will be located at the festival in the Health and Wellness Zone. Walk-ups are welcome or MPOX appointments can be scheduled at any time by visiting https://myturn.ca.gov/. To best serve festival goers, the HCA is partnering with Viet Rainbow OC, APAIT, Radiant Health, The LGBTQ Center OC and Shanti OC which will have booths in the Health and Wellness Zone.

HCA’s Chief of Public Health Services and Chief of Mental Health and Recovery Services will be speaking on stage and will be joined by Univision TV and radio personality Luis Sandoval, the HCA’s partner and ambassador to the Spanish speaking community on the importance of MPOX vaccinations.

The HCA will also have a photo booth which will offer opportunities for OC’s LGBTQ+ population to take part in future educational campaigns. For more information visit the HCA’s Health and Wellness booth at the festival.

Press Release in Chinese
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While cases of mpox have been at low levels this year, mpox transmission has continued to occur in California and clusters have been reported in other states. Last week routine surveillance testing identified mpox in wastewater specimens in Orange County. No recent clinical cases have been reported to OCHCA, but we want to remind providers to continue to be vigilant in recognizing potential cases, particularly during the LGBTQ Pride Event Season. The diagnosis of mpox should be considered when evaluating patients with rash illness. Patients presenting with sexually transmitted infections should be assessed for mpox rash. Most cases of mpox infections have been among gay, bisexual, same-gender-loving, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). More info...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Update to supplement the CDC HAN Health Advisory issued on May 17, 2023. This Health Update provides updates on the status of the ongoing fungal meningitis outbreak and highlights interim recommendations for diagnosis and treatment. More info...

(Santa Ana, CA) - The OC Health Care Agency’s 2021-2022 Biennial Ocean, Harbor & Bay Water Quality Report is now available online and provides a yearly analysis of bacteriological water quality data over a 22-year period for Orange County’s ocean recreational waters. The report also incorporates historical data during the 35-year period from 1987-2022.
 
Yearly data and trends are included that represent the period from 2000-2022 since California Assembly Bill 411 (AB 411) regarding bacteriological water quality has been in place to ensure ocean water quality meets standards to protect public health. Major findings of the report include:

• A total number of 85 sewage spills were reported to the Water Quality Team in 2022, which was well below the 33-year average of 184 spills per year. One spill carried over from 2021 to 2022.
• In 2022, 4% of the 85 sewage spills reported resulted in ocean, harbor and bay water closures representing a total of three ocean water closures for the year.
• Blockages in pipelines have been responsible for an average of 72% of all beach closures since 1999. The major causes of pipeline blockages during this period include the infiltration of roots (31%), buildup of grease (25%), and unknown sources (22%).
• Rain advisories are issued when bacterial levels are elevated and can cause illness to swimmers, surfers and divers. In 2022, twelve rain advisories were issued resulting in a total of 46 rain advisory days for the year.

The full report, which includes details related to sewage spills as well as ocean, harbor and bay water closures, was prepared by the OC Health Care Agency’s Environmental Health Water Quality Team and is available at https://ocbeachinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/OC-Ocean-Water-Quality-Report-2021-2022.pdf.
 
The Water Quality Team is responsible for protecting the public from exposure to ocean and bay waters that may be contaminated with sewage or may cause illness along Orange County’s coastal areas. To learn more, visit www.ocbeachinfo.com.

Languages Available:

• Chinese
• Korean
• Spanish
• Vietnamese

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