Take it From Dr. Mitch

enlarge photo >>

Korina Jochim: AIM uses the very sensitive PCR DNA test to screen for HIV. Why do you use this particular test?

Sharon Mitchell: The HIV ELISA test [which is the standard test] typically has anywhere from a six-week to a six-month window period, which is an ideal test for someone with five sexual partners a year, maybe less. If you have upwards of five to seven sexual partners a year, you need a more definitive test. AIM specializes in the PCR DNA test as a monitoring system for the porn industry. These methods don’t eliminate HIV … We pick up HIV at 10 to 12 days old. These tests are only as good as the day they’re drawn. We offer these tests for under $100, and the results come back the following morning.

Why do you think the PCR DNA test isn’t the standard test for HIV?

It’s not the standard because the government seems to be very happy with the antibody methodology, and I don’t know why. I have no earthly idea.

Despite how educated the gay community is, HIV infection rates are rising and this trend is continuing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Why do you think this is, and how should it be addressed?

Granted, the gay community is more aware than most. [But] awareness has nothing to do with denial. People don’t want to think about it, or what’s even worse is that there’s so many advertisements for drugs and cocktails, and combining them into all one pill, that people think, “Oh, if it happens to me, I’ll just take a pill.” I think denial is a big part of it. What I’ve done here at AIM is to take a population and give them regular testing. If we were to take all this fucking money that we’re spending on prevention education, and we can’t say “fuck” and we can’t say this and we can’t say that because of the Bush administration, so all this prevention education can’t get the point across to the people it needs to; we really need to be screening everyone, pretty much mandatory, whether they like it or not, wherever we can. That’s what we need to do. I know that sounds very Byzantine and judgmental, but I really think people left to their own devices and knowing what they know still won’t do the right thing. So I say stick a needle in their arm, give them a PCR DNA test every month. If we were to spend that money and test every single man, woman, and teenager in the country, we would find less infection, be able to give prevention education every single month, which is what we’re able to do here, and we would eliminate [HIV and STDs] just as we’ve done here. [STD infection in the porn population] was about 12% and now it is well below 2%. Plug the [model we use here] anywhere and I believe it would be effective.

Why do you think some people are so afraid of testing?

It’s a civil-rights issue to [the gay community], testing. Confidential testing is almost unheard of in that community because they’re afraid to share results; they’re afraid to admit their results to one another because they have suffered unfairly such bad treatment and shame that comes with this diagnosis. And why, I don’t know. Because any clinician knows that [HIV] is no different than any other disease. It’s the way it’s contracted that’s judged. The homophobes out there that are going to be judgmental have played a huge part and have dealt the gay population a bad hand, which is why I think we would have difficulty implementing the mandatory PCR DNA testing every month. Because people would say, “My God, I’m going to lose my job, someone’s going to judge me!” And they have every right to feel that way. It’s become a civil-rights issue, and that’s a shame. Or I’d be testing the gay industry right now, but I can’t, because they’re so terrified that they’re going to be judged and lose money and their jobs.