During the week of September 10-14, 2007, the Utah Department of Health’s Sexually Transmitted Disease Control and HIV Prevention Programs will sponsor free gonorrhea, chlamydia and HIV testing at 42 Utah locations.

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), specifically, gonorrhea and chlamydia, can cause harmful, often irreversible, health complications such as reproductive health problems, fetal and perinatal health problems and cancer. These complications can be avoided if detected early enough, making STD screening very important. In Utah, gonorrhea cases have increased over 280 percent and chlamydia has increased over 60 percent since 2001.

Since women are biologically more susceptible to become infected with an STD, they suffer more frequently and often develop more serious complications as a result of untreated infections. In women, the infection can spread into the uterus or fallopian tubes causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID can permanently damage the fallopian tubes, uterus, and surrounding tissues, leading to infertility, chronic pelvic pain, and ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the uterus).

Both chlamydia and gonorrhea infections can also cause serious complications in an infant if the mother is infected during pregnancy and not diagnosed and treated appropriately. In 2006, 68 percent of all diagnosed chlamydia cases and 41 percent of diagnosed gonorrhea cases in Utah, were in females.

Twenty-six women were newly reported with HIV in Utah during 2006. Eighty-one percent of these women were of childbearing age (15-44) and a disproportionate number of all women infected with HIV are Hispanic and African-American. Heterosexual contact was the most common means of HIV exposure reported, with injecting drug use as second highest.

“Our goal is to make getting tested for HIV and STDs as fast, simple and low-cost as possible,” said Lynn M. Meinor of the UDOH, HIV Prevention Program. “That way more Utahns will begin seeing testing as a regular part of their yearly health care,” Meinor added. “If we can increase testing by even a small percentage, we can significantly reduce the number of new infections, and help Utahns improve their quality of life by getting treatment in the early stages of these diseases.” Two previous free testing events resulted in over 110 people being identified as positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea.

Although the highest rates of HIV and STD infection occur among young people ages 15 to 24, UDOH encourages ALL Utahns who are or have been sexually active to get tested. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone in the U.S. between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at their next doctor visit or within the next year.

It’s free, fast, and easy! A complete list of free testing locations is available online at www.health.utah.gov/cdc or www.aidsinfoutah.net or by calling (801) 538-6096.

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