St. Louis still ranks highest in STD rates

As per data provided by the federal on Wednesday, St. Louis recorded 14,961 Chlamydia cases in 2015. This is the 17th highest per-capita rate nationwide. The syphilis rates maintained a steady record of 400 cases within the metro area. However, St. Louis city had the highest Chlamydia gonorrhea rates between independent cities and counties.

The medical director of the St. Louis STD/HIV Prevention Training Center, Dr. Brad Stoner, said “We’ve seen closures of publicly funded STD clinics around the country, and St. Louis is similar in that we have very few options for people to get tested and treated.”

These infections may remain symptomless but when they are not treated, they can turn out to be catastrophic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention leaders have asked that there be mobilization and expansion of public health services, more so for gay and bisexual men as well as women who are pregnant.

The CDC’s director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, Dr. Jonathan Mermin, said in a statement that the rates of STDs in the country are on a rise and most of the STDs prevention systems in the country are eroded. He went on to explain that we as a nation are in a decisive moment.

Due to the historical high STDs rates in St. Louis and St. Louis County, the public health officials decided to jointly begin efforts that would change the narrative in 2016. Considering that the decision did not require an extra funding, such data was not reflected in the federal data. What the involved departments did was to hold outreach events at Fairground Park in St. Louis and the St. Louis County Department of Public Health in Berkeley.

Who are the most affected?

The Director of Communicable Disease Control Services in the county, Dr. Fred Echols, said that the occurrences in St. Louis are just a reflection of the incidences being felt all over the country. He said that the county faces a number of difficulties and will continue using data as a guiding parameter is identifying the populations at most risk.

In being more specific, Echols said that the people who are less likely to access STD tests are the ones with no health insurance and are not placed on a regular medical care. The CDC does not get a routine report of STDs like herpes, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Trichomoniasis.

Far much worse than thought

Echols believes that the situation is far much worse than reported. He said that the surveillance report will only get details of two-thirds of the condition. Public health officials report that over a third of the STD cases reported in this area are found in young people of not more than 25 years. Girls aged 15 to 19 years are the most risky group.

That makes it important that work is done in combating this. The young people need to be reached while still in school. The young people can also be requested to refer their friends and make use of the social networks.

Contributor: admin