DALLAS — As efforts continue to improve in the worldwide fight against HIV/AIDS, leaders in some Texas communities are doubling down on testing for the virus.

Last month, Parkland Hospital in Dallas announced that they have begun universal testing for HIV in all of their patients.

“What we’re doing at Parkland is we’re really standardizing it,” said Dr. Helen King. “So whenever somebody comes in to see their primary care provider and they’re getting routine lab testing, an HIV test will be included.”

King said the goal is to cut down on unknown transmissions of HIV in the community by people who don’t even realize they’re carrying the illness. According to hiv.gov, about 1 in 7 HIV carriers are unknown carriers. That’s especially a concern in Dallas County, which King says Parkland has identified as having a larger than usual HIV infection rate.

Kirk Myers has been trying to curb that very problem in his south Dallas neighborhood for many years. He founded the group Abounding Prosperity, which now has several resources centers, including a clinic and pharmacy, in the neighborhood.

Myers said he felt a calling to the work as a health educator and an advocate for both the black and LGBTQ+ communities in the area.

“There’s not enough people that look like me doing the work,” said Myers.

HIV quickly became the group’s largest target as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to identify Black Americans as having significantly higher rates of HIV infection than any other racial group.

Abounding Prosperity’s biggest focus has become HIV testing and prevention; joining hospitals like Parkland in their fight to get the illness under control.

Things have come a long way since Myers first heard of the illness, back in the 1980s. He said prep preventatives and treatments for those with the illness have come so far in recent years that the entire tone in taking on the virus has become much more positive.

“Affirming, words of encouragement, because we know now with medical advancement people are able to live with HIV. It’s a manageable disease rather than a death sentence,” said Myers.

The National Institutes of Health even announced this month they are working on three potential HIV vaccines, using the science behind the COVID-19 vaccines to make that long sought-after goal a reality.

However, Myers said getting more people tested and eliminating the threat of spreading infections with treatment is still one of the most important components to potential elimination of the illness one day.

“We are working toward an end to HIV,” he said.

Doctors hope the addition of more testing in Dallas and throughout the country will move things one step closer to that goal.