ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwired - Dec 1, 2016) -  In recognition of World AIDS Day on December 1, GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTCQB: GOVX), a biotechnology company specializing in developing human vaccines, encourages everyone to get tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. 

Around the world, about 35 million people are living with HIV. In the United States, about 50,000 people become infected with HIV every year. World AIDS Day is a global initiative to raise awareness, fight prejudice, and improve education about HIV and AIDS.

In the United States, about 1 in 5 people who have HIV don't know they are infected, and the only way to know one's infection status is to be tested. In fact, the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion recommends that everyone aged 15 to 65 should be tested at least once. To find an HIV testing location near you, use the online locator at https://locator.aids.gov.

Getting tested is important for both the individual and for world health. For the individual, early detection will allow sooner intervention with anti-retroviral medication and prevention of the infection progressing to AIDS, thus allowing a near-normal life. But just as importantly, drug treatment means the infected individual will be much less likely to spread HIV to others.

GeoVax is committed to an AIDS-free generation through vaccine development. Our HIV vaccine candidate is currently progressing through human clinical trials conducted by the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) with support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). To learn more about our work to fight HIV, visit www.geovax.com.

About GeoVax

GeoVax Labs, Inc., is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing human vaccines against infectious diseases using its Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Virus Like Particle (MVA-VLP) vaccine platform. The Company's development programs are focused on vaccines against HIV, Zika Virus, hemorrhagic fever viruses (Ebola, Sudan, Marburg, and Lassa) and malaria. GeoVax also is evaluating the use of its MVA-VLP platform in cancer immunotherapy, and for therapeutic use in chronic Hepatitis B infections. GeoVax's vaccine platform supports in vivo production of non-infectious VLPs from the cells of the very person receiving the vaccine, mimicking a natural infection, stimulating both the humoral and cellular arms of the immune system to recognize, prevent, and control the target infection. For more information, visit www.geovax.com.