ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Out of 159 counties in Georgia, Dougherty County is fifth in the state for the highest HIV rates. City leaders are now hosting events aimed at bringing awareness to the chronic immune system disease.

HIV is contracted through sexual contact or blood-to-blood contact.

The Department of Public Health’s Southwest Health District (DPH) covers 14 counties in South Georgia. Leaders said they see most transmission is through people having unprotected sex.

“It’s really important to note that it’s not just Dougherty County. The state of Georgia has rates of HIV that are almost twice as high as the national average. So it’s important that we’re addressing it as a whole,” Meghan Herendeen, MPH, the District Epidemiologist for the Southwest Health District, said. “The biggest take away should be that HIV is transmitted the same way as other STDs, so if you feel that you’re at risk for any other STDs, you should also be looking for HIV.”

In the most recent year tracked by the DPH, Dougherty County reported 37 new cases of HIV, which is a rate that leaders said has stayed fairly consistent over the past five years rather than declining.

Albany City Commissioner Jon Howard recently hosted a town hall meeting to bring awareness to HIV to Albany State University (ASU) students.

“Just being a college student in general, it’s important for everyone to understand that going to get tested regularly is one, taking your health seriously, and it’s caring about your health,” Jordan Boyd, a junior at ASU, said. “HIV virus is nothing new. It’s been around. To see the community take something like that seriously was an eye opener because our health is something that we don’t focus on.”

Two more town hall meetings will be hosted with an HIV coordinator at 210 Thornton Drive. One will be on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 10 a.m., and the second will be held on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 10 a.m.

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