NASTAD: COVID-19’s impact on PrEP/PEP and sexual health services
NASTAD, in collaboration with the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), released “One Year Later: COVID-19’s Impact on PrEP/PEP and Sexual Health Services.” This resource explores the impact COVID-19 has had on the provision of sexual health and HIV prevention services over the last year. This reflection piece details the many challenges and opportunities COVID-19 […]
HIV & STI National Strategic Plans Call for Enhanced Coordination of Efforts
From HIV.gov… The recently released STI National Strategic Plan (STI Plan) and HIV National Strategic Plan were developed concurrently with the Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan and each calls for a more integrated approach to addressing the syndemic of HIV, STIs, viral hepatitis, and substance use and mental health disorders. Together, these three plans aim to enhance coordination of the activities […]
Despite Increasing Rates of STIs, Federal Investment Has Been Flat
From nationalacademes.org… Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) impose billions of dollars in medical costs in the U.S., but STI prevention and control is chronically underfunded, stigmatized, and siloed from efforts to promote overall health and well-being, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report calls for modernizing national STI surveillance and monitoring […]
Health Alert: Pennsylvania reports highest rate of syphilis in 20 years
From outbreaknewstoday.com… Pennsylvania state health officials are reporting increased amounts of sexually transmitted infections, in particular syphilis, prompting officials to encourage the public to take steps to decrease their risk. Pregnant women should be screened at first and third trimester because of the sharp increase in the number of babies born with the disease in […]
How the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting another epidemic among teens: STDs | Expert Opinion
2020 marks the fifth consecutive year of increasing rates of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis in the U.S. From The Philadelphia Inquirer… While the eyes of the nation are on the coronavirus pandemic, another threat to public health has been steadily growing in the United States. We’ve been battling rising rates of sexually transmitted infections (STI) […]
Scaling up HIV Prevention Services in STD Specialty Clinics
From HIV.gov… Combined cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia reached an all-time high in the United States in 2018, reaching 2.4 million cases. This marked the fifth consecutive year of sharp increases in STDs. For more than a century, sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics have provided critical prevention and care for these common infections. Today, […]
LGBT-friendly primary care improves STD screening rates
From medicalxpress.com… Bruce W. Furness, M.D., M.P.H., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues developed and evaluated a quality improvement initiative (Transforming Primary Care for LGBT People) to enhance the capacity of 10 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs; 123 clinical sites in nine states) to provide culturally affirming care. […]
STD rates likely skyrocketing in US as fewer people get tested during pandemic
From businessinsider.com… As clinics and health departments across the country have shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic, the nation’s roughly 2,200 disease detectives, the so-called “contact tracers” of infectious disease outbreaks, have been re-deployed to track where cases of COVID-19 — the disease caused by the novel coronavirus — are spreading, to try to stop those outbreaks in […]
STD Testing Rates, Service Receipt Among HIV-Positive MSM Remain Low
From the American Journal of Managed Care… The CDC recommends regular testing for bacterial sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among all sexually active gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) because they have a higher risk of infection. Chief among these STDs are gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Those most […]
Pandemic sparks concerns about surging STD, HIV rates
From the Hill… The pandemic that has upended life in the U.S. could lead to increased STD rates and setbacks in the fight against HIV as public health resources are shifted to the coronavirus response. Access to STD and HIV testing and treatment services are dwindling as local health departments shuffle staff to respond to […]