Home STD tests now available for teens and adults in Alabama

Teens and adults in Alabama can now have test kits for sexually-transmitted diseases delivered to their homes as part of an effort to slow the spread of HIV and other infections.

Eligible patients can request one test kit every three months. The kits are free for state residents and can be requested at this link.

The Alabama Department of Public Health launched the program on June 7 for people ages 12 and older. It allows people to collect samples for testing at home, without having to schedule an appointment or travel to a medical clinic. Patients must fill out a risk assessment to qualify for an at-home test.

Specimens collected at home will be mailed to a laboratory. The kits include supplies for collecting blood from a finger stick, urine and other sites. Clinicians will review the results of the tests and recommend treatment.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, about half sexually active people age 25 or younger will contract a sexually transmitted infection. Many will not have symptoms. The initiative is aimed at those who may not have easy access to health care or those facing other obstacles to testing.

Most STDs can be treated and many can be cured. Alabama has the third-highest rate of new chlamydia infections and the second-highest rate of new gonorrhea infections in the United States, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

The highest rates of HIV infection are in the South, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Black people in the South have some of the highest rates of HIV. The virus can cause AIDS if left untreated and still kills people in Alabama despite medical advances that allow HIV-positive individuals to live normal lives with treatment.

The Alabama Department of Public Health also offers free and confidential testing for sexually-transmitted diseases at local health departments.

The home tests kits are being offered in partnership with Binx Health, a Boston-based company that developed at-home tests for several sexually-transmitted infections.

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