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Catawba County clinic to educate on HIV

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — A Catawba County clinic is taking steps to stop the spread of HIV by educating those living with the disease.

Fairgrove Primary Health in Conover said education is key to removing the HIV stigma, our partners at the Hickory Record report.

A nurse, who has treated patients with HIV for 15 years, said she tries to assure that the disease is serious, but not a "death sentence.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared an HIV epidemic in the south because of the high number of people living with the disease.

CDC says socio-economic factors, like income inequality, play a role in the high number of cases.

The HIV rate in Mecklenburg County is nearly double the state average.

Many of the cases are concentrated in lower-income neighborhoods.

The county recently gave the health department $248,000 to help fight the spread of HIV.