HIV positive numbers rose in 2018, according to North Charleston nonprofit

North Charleston-based nonprofit Palmetto Community Care recorded 23 new cases of HIV last year, up from 20 in 2017.

The organization, formerly known as Lowcountry AIDS Services, tested a total of 1,700 people for HIV in 2018, according to a press release Thursday, a number that’s slightly up from 1,680 in 2017 but down from 1,711 in 2015.

That 1.8 percent increase in the number of people the group tested for HIV in 2018 showed a 15 percent increase in HIV-positive tests over 2017.

“There is only one way to know whether you are HIV-positive and that is to get tested and know your status,” said Prevention Program Manager Adam Weaver in a statement. “So, seeing more people get tested in 2018 means our education and outreach efforts are working.”

HIV affects your immune system and may come with flu-like symptoms within weeks of contraction. If it goes untreated, the virus could progress into AIDS.

The number of people who PCC tested for other STDs went up by 256 last year.

In 2017, 38,739 people were diagnosed with the HIV virus in the U.S., according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than half of the cases were in the South. The number of nationwide diagnoses remained stable between 2012 and 2016, and men who have sex with men remained the most affected population, accounting for 66 percent of new diagnoses in 2017.

The same goes for the Charleston region: More than 90 percent of last year’s HIV positive cases at Palmetto Community Care identified as men who have sex with men. Three-quarters were under the age of 30, and more than half were black.

The nonprofit launched a PrEP program in September to help combat the rising rates of HIV in the greater Charleston area. PrEP is a once-daily pill meant to reduce the risk of contracting HIV. Twenty-seven people are enrolled in the program, which offers the preventative drug at low or no cost.

In 2017, about 37 million people were living with HIV throughout the world, according to UNAIDS.