Chicago has snared a federal grant that will dramatically increase the number of people the city tests for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Chicago Public Radio’s Chip Mitchell reports.

**

Non-Hispanic blacks now constitute about 58 percent of new HIV cases in Chicago.

The one-year grant is part of a Centers for Disease Control effort targeting African Americans nationwide for HIV screening. The Chicago Department of Public Health will receive more than $1.9 million. Paul LaKosky directs the department’s HIV testing services.

LAKOSKY: It’s a paradigm shift from HIV counseling and testing on demand to HIV testing as a part of routine health maintenance.  

The grant will fund 70,000 tests next year at four hospitals and three clinics on the city’s South and West sides and in the Cook County jail. That nearly quadruples the number of HIV tests the city can provide.

I’m Chip Mitchell, Chicago Public Radio.