North Carolina counties are reporting modest increases in HIV but more dramatic jumps in other STDs.
Syphilis cases in Mecklenburg, Forsyth, Wake, and Wayne counties are at least twice the number they were at this time last year, according to the "North Carolina HIV/STD Quarterly Surveillance Report: Vol. 2009, No. 3."
In Iredell County, gonorrhea cases through the first nine months of the year totaled 187, compared to 163 during the same period in 2007. Chlamydia cases for the first nine months of 2009 and 2007 numbered 385 and 233, respectively.
Free testing for STDs is being planned through a statewide partnership between the Division of Public Health and health departments across North Carolina.
"Sexually transmitted diseases are not affecting one specific group of people," Evelyn Foust, director of the North Carolina Communicable Disease Branch, said in a release.
North Carolina had 888 new cases of AIDS and 1,358 new cases of HIV from January through September of 2009.
"It is important that anyone who is sexually active know their HIV and STD status in order to protect their health and the health of their partner," Foust said.
To access the report, visit www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/hiv/pdf/vol09no3.pdf.
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