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Our office is open to the public from 10 am to 3 pm.

HIV Prevention

Know Your Status: Get Tested

Free, confidential HIV and Hepatitis C testing by appointment or mailed to you. We use OraQuick Rapid test which is an oral swab or a finger stick. Both tests produce results in 20 minutes.

Also available: risk reduction counseling, referrals to STI/STD clinics, and referrals to addiction treatment and recovery programs. 

907-452-4222 
 

         


Northern Exchange; Safer Drug Use and Sex Supplies

Monday - Friday 10am - 3pm
710 3rd Ave Fairbanks

Northern Exchange provides access to sterile substance use supplies, Narcan, fentanyl test strips, safer sex supplies, harm reduction information, and biohazard/Sharps boxes. 

  • 24-hour access outdoor Sharps container

Our primary goal is to provide injection drug users with new, sterile injection equipment as a means of reducing the spread of blood-borne viruses and or injection-related infections. The exchange simultaneously removes used injection equipment from circulation through a process of exchanging old syringes for new ones. Both are valid and important goals.

 


PREVENTION

If you may have been exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours, talk to your health care provider or an emergency room doctor about PEP right away. PEP can reduce your chance of becoming HIV-positive. People are exposed to HIV by coming into contact with certain body fluids of a person with HIV, including blood, semen, and vaginal fluids. This usually happens through vaginal or anal sex or by sharing needles.

 

If you are at very high risk for HIV, ask your health care provider about daily medicine to prevent HIV, called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP can stop HIV from taking hold and spreading throughout your body. It is highly effective for preventing HIV if used as prescribed, but it is much less effective when not taken consistently. Daily PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by more than 90%. Among people who inject drugs, it reduces the risk by more than 70%. Your risk of getting HIV from sex can be even lower if you combine PrEP with condoms and other prevention methods.

 

Getting tested is vital for anyone who is at even a slight risk of acquiring HIV or HEP C. Early detection and treatment greatly improve a person’s chances of staying healthy longer. Knowing your status is also a key component of preventing the spread of HIV and HEP C. There are medications available now that can cure some Hepatitis C cases.

 

Studies have shown that prevention programs cost a fraction of what care programs cost.  It is much cheaper to prevent someone from contracting HIV and Hepatitis C than it is to care for that person after they have contracted the disease.  Prevention is also important in protecting our communities, and our prevention efforts make us great neighbors.  Talking about issues such as safer sex, needle use, and stigma can be tough for many individuals and families, so our prevention efforts at IAA are of critical importance to Alaska.  

 

IAA provides qualified prevention staff in the Fairbanks community to address the HIV outreach and education needs of straight, gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual and questioning youth and adults who may be at greater risk for contracting the virus.

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