Paris: at checkpoints we test for HIV in 90 minutes

The walls have changed color and become softer, it has become possible to equip an additional screening box, and, above all, high technology confirms the status of this place as a real hospital “antenna” for screening and prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. “Checkpoint” Paris, a center dedicated to “community sexual health” among the capital’s gay, lesbian and trans community, reopens this Wednesday with the status and funds of the ambitious “Paris without AIDS” project. with the support of the Paris Town Hall. Set up 6 years ago at an information kiosk in the heart of the Marais, close to the public most at risk, the checkpoint can now offer full screening for HIV, hepatitis and other sexually transmitted infections in 90 minutes and start treatment immediately STIs or provide post-exposure treatment for HIV.

The tool for this leap forward in health care at the checkpoint is… the large black and gray box found in the sampling box. A technological gem capable of detecting infections and viruses in a certified manner, in record time and on 8 different samples simultaneously. “This machine only exists in a hospital setting, as a mini-delocalized biological laboratory,” explains Nellie Reidellet, deputy director of Checkpoint. For the center’s medical and reception services, this is a tool that finally makes it possible to complete the hitherto limited screening offer and secure its status as a “sexual health center.”

The checkpoint also becomes an official branch of the Saint-Louis-Lariboisiere-Fernand Vidal hospital group of the Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP). For the team, this is more than a partnership, it is as if “the first gay hospital in the Marais” opened on rue Geoffroy-L’Agnier, smiles Nelly. Or at least an app offering general care, as well as consultations in gynecology, addiction, psychology and sexology, tailored to Checkpoint’s different audiences. Since gay men do not face the same risks as lesbians, and transgender people do not face the same risks based on their behavior and gender, the ambitions of AIDS-Free Paris should give the specialist center the means to act. . Over 6 years, the checkpoint received more than 15,000 gay consultants and conducted more than 23,000 rapid tests, 2% of which were on gays in the capital.

Checkpoint Paris, 36, rue Geoffroy L’Agnier (IVe), M° Saint-Paul or Pont-Marie, open Monday to Saturday from 17:00 to 21:00. More information at www.lekiosque.org.