Q&A: Increased funding for STD prevention a 'down payment' - Healio

Q&A: Increased funding for STD prevention a 'down payment' - Healio
Man refuses to believe he gave multiple women STD in viral text exchange - FOX 5 Atlanta
Understanding STDs and the Facts You Need to Know - Chiang Rai Times

Posted: 30 Dec 2019 09:56 AM PST

Congress increased federal funding for STD prevention for the first time in almost 2 decades, according to the National Coalition of STD Directors, adding $3.51 million in base funding to the CDC's STD prevention programs for fiscal year 2020.

Healio spoke with Matthew Prior, MPH, director of communications for the National Coalition of STD Directors, about the added funding, which comes amid a rise in STDs over the past 5 years. – by Caitlyn Stulpin

Q: Where will the funding go?

A: This is yet to be determined. But if we want it to make an impact, this money should be sent to the frontlines of the STD epidemics — the state and local public health STD programs.

Q: What will it be used for?

A: This will be determined by the CDC working with local jurisdictions, but this increase in funding will likely go to bolster the public health workforce and to enhance existing programs and prevention and care initiatives.

Q: What kind of impact could it have on the STD crisis in the U.S. ? Is it enough?

A: Any increase in funding will have a positive impact. But is it enough? The direct answer is no — not even close. This is a down payment and a step in the right direction. The federal STD prevention program is still $5 million short of where it was in 2003, and the spending power for STD programs has decreased by over 40% because of inflation and rising operational costs. To begin to bend the recent STD trends, we need Congress to support an increase of $82 million — $62 million to fill the gap left due to the loss of spending power and $20 million for direct service funding, otherwise we are short-changing the health of American citizens and trends will continue.

Q: What is needed beyond money?

A: The STD epidemics are spreading too quickly and the causes of these increases are too varied for a simple solution. Here's where the National Coalition of STD Directors would start:

We need coordination and collaboration between federal agencies, not just CDC or HHS. We cannot continue to fight these epidemics on only one front — this is a losing battle. This will require national leadership and champions to spearhead this coordination and to educate providers and the public.
We need new national initiatives to fight stigma and provide more science-based sexual health education for youth. Arming people with the facts and empowering people to tell their stories of living with an STD is an amazingly powerful tool for STD prevention.
The administration needs to recognize that STD prevention is HIV prevention as part of its Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative. We know at least one-in-10 new HIV cases are directly caused by having an STD. We can't hope to end the HIV epidemic without addressing the intertwined STD epidemics.
Lastly, STD programs need flexibility to curate their programs to meet the local need. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the rising tide of STDs, and prescriptive funding and funding restrictions result in a focus on meeting grant requirements rather than providing high-quality, creative services that reflect local needs.

Reference:

National Coalition of STD Directors. In a historic action, Congress increases funding to fight STD crisis in U.S. http://www.ncsddc.org/in-a-historic-action-congress-increases-funding-to-fight-std-crisis-in-u-s/. Accessed December 19, 2019.

Disclosure: Prior is an employee of the National Coalition of STD Directors.

Man refuses to believe he gave multiple women STD in viral text exchange - FOX 5 Atlanta

Posted: 29 Dec 2019 12:35 AM PST

Man refuses to believe he gave multiple women STD in viral text exchange

A man confronted by a woman who said he exposed her to an STD refused to accept the claim in a text message exchange that has gone viral.

LOS ANGELES (FOX News) - A man confronted by a woman who said he exposed her to an STD refused to accept the claim in a text message exchange that has gone viral.

In a screenshot of the conversation posted on Reddit, the woman told the man she contracted chlamydia and that she was certain of who she got it from.

"I go get tested after each new person, and you were my most recent new unprotected hookup and I most definitely have chlamydia from it," she wrote, apparently on a dating app.

FILE: This file photo shows a test for chlamydia. (Photo by: Photofusion/Crispin Hughes/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The man, identified as Joshua, simply replied "Oh" to which the unidentified woman wrote, "No comment?"

Joshua then explained that it was "pretty hard to believe" that she got the STD from him because "I haven't had any symptoms for a year."

"Ok, well just telling you bc that's the results and literally haven't slept with anyone else and got checked before you," the woman said. "I'm not upset or anything but … just so you know."

Click To Expand

Apparently not fazed, Joshua continued to push back on the suggestion the sexually-transmitted disease came from him. "Not the first girl to come up claiming I gave it to them when I didn't so I could care less," he wrote.

The woman replied, "Think what you want but getting checked is really easy and could protect you in the future."

Redditors were astonished by the man's cavalier attitude regarding such a serious topic. "Not the first girl".. well okay then, case solved you have it," a Reddit user commented.

"Lol this guy thinks her not being the first girl to tell him he's spreading STDs is like an insult," another said.

Many commenters pointed out how well the woman handled the conversation, despite the man's unbothered demeanor. "She's handling that pretty well. Especially after that last comment," one person wrote.

One Redditor specifically addressed the man's claim that he didn't have chlamydia because he wasn't exhibiting symptoms.

"Chlamydia is usually asymptomatic. Only 30% of women and 10% of men actually show symptoms," the Redditor wrote. Another added, "Chlamydia often shows no symptoms and is easily treated and cured so either way this guy is an idiot."

One Redditor jokingly pointed out the silver lining: "On the plus side, he's probably going to end up infertile."

Get updates for this story on FOXNews.com.

Understanding STDs and the Facts You Need to Know - Chiang Rai Times

Posted: 27 Dec 2019 03:53 PM PST

As soon as you become sexually active, you should be concerned about your sexual health. Whether you have one partner or several, you should always take into account the spreading and contracting of STDs.

Also how your status can affect your body and the bodies of others you are sexually engaging with. The more you know about how to prevent an STD infection, the more precautions you can take.

Even if you do find yourself infected with an STD, usually, it's a learning experience. An experience that can make you more careful going forward. If you think you might have contracted an STD from unprotected sex, then find your nearing testing center. You can also search self collect testing to test yourself at home.

If you need some quick facts about STDs to help you get started on becoming more knowledgeable about your sexual health, sexually transmitted diseases are:

Women are more susceptible to STDs than men.

Women contract STDs more easily because of their anatomy. It's also easier to transmit an infection from a man to a woman.

Infections that progress due to STDs are also riskier for women.

Women are more likely to have their fertility affected by a long-term infection, while they are also at risk of passing some STDs to their babies while they give birth. Particular STDs, like HPV, can also increase the risk or even cause cervical cancer in women. For this reason, women need to be extra careful about their sexual health.

There are more than 25 known STDs.

The most common STDs are chlamydia, gonorrhea, crabs, HPV, Herpes, hepatitis-B, and trichomoniasis.

STDs are most commonly contracted through oral, vaginal, and anal sex.

Some people believe that STDs cannot be transmitted orally, when in fact, they can.

Most STDs are passed through vaginal fluids, semen, and blood.

Some, like scabies, are passed simply through skin-to-skin contact.

While many STDs are treatable, not all can be cured.

The STDs that are incurable include hepatitis-B, Herpes, HIV, and HPV. If you have been diagnosed with these STDs, then you have to relay this information to any current or new partners. There are preventative medicines they can take to combat against contracting some of these infections (like Herpes and HIV).

Many STDs, especially the most common ones, are asymptomatic.

This means that sometimes after you've been affected by an STD, the infection will not cause any symptoms to appear. The most common STDs — HPV and chlamydia often show no symptoms in those infected. That's why you should be tested after every unprotected sexual encounter.

Men who have sex with men have the highest risk of contracting syphilis and HIV.

70% of those diagnosed with syphilis from 2013 to 2017 were men, while only 6% of those people were women. There are two stages of syphilis, which is a disease that is highly contagious and can have severe side effects if left untreated. Symptoms include the appearance of a rash, sores, and flu-like symptoms.

Each year, there are an estimated 20 million new STD infections in the United States alone.
Those who are sexually active between the ages of 15 and 24 account for 50% of newly infected people each year, although the people in that age group only account for 25% of the sexually active population.

Many young people start experiencing sexual ages early or might be pressured into engaging in sexual activity before they even know what they're getting into. Because of this, they pass STDs to each other at a faster rate. If they were to be more educated about how to properly protect against STDs, then this percentage might decrease over time.

1 in 4 teens contract an STD each year.
HPV (human papillomavirus) is the most prevalent STD contracted in the U.S.
The U.S. has the highest rate of STD infection in the global first world.
Less than half of those between 18 and 44 have been tested for any STD other than HIV in their lifetime.

Even though HIV used to be a life-threatening virus, and is still prevalent in the U.S. and globally, the likelihood of transmission has gone down significantly in recent decades.

Get tested before you infect anyone else

For those men who are engaging sexually with other men, it still should be a topic of discussion. Also something you are tested for after every instance of unprotected sex with a partner.

It is less likely to occur after vaginal sex (unless those who are engaging are also using heavy drugs that involve needles and could already be infected with the virus). Regardless, everyone should be tested for HIV every six months or after being sexually active without using protection.

Anytime a person has sex with a partner unprotected (and they aren't in a mutually monogamous relationship in which both partners have been tested before engaging sexually), they should be tested for potential STD infection. Many people are deterred by the stigma attached to STD infection as well as naivety about "knowing" their partner. Having sex with a person unprotected means that you've now been exposed to any other partners they've had or currently have. Get tested before you infect anyone else.

Condoms don't protect against two of the most prevalent STDs being spread in the U.S. — HPV and genital herpes.
It isn't just intercourse that can be the cause of an STD infection; STDs can also be passed through oral sex, mutual masturbation, and anal sex.
It is not routine to test for STDs at your doctor's office.

For women, it is recommended to visit the gynecologist and have a pap smear yearly. Not everyone has access to those services, but those who do know that they will ask you whether or not you want to be tested for STDs during the visit. This is a good option in killing two birds with one stone – you can make sure that your vaginal and ovarian health is in order, and that your sexual health is being taken care of.

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