CDC Calls for More Prevention Against a ‘Persistent Enemy’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling for a “renewed commitment from all players” to fight sharp increases in sexually transmitted diseases. In the past year alone, more than 2 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis were reported in the U.S. While 1.6 million of those cases were chlamydia, there were 470,000 cases of gonorrhea and nearly 28,000 cases of primary and secondary syphilis. Calling STDs “a growing threat,” the agency stressed the need for healthcare providers and state and country health departments to step up efforts in screening, education, and prevention. This may be of particular interest to urgent care providers because anecdotal evidence suggests that many people who are concerned they may have an STD prefer the relative anonymity of the urgent care center over going to their “regular” doctor when they start experiencing symptoms. Consequently, urgent care providers are likely to have such conversations with patients postexposure, or in the context of preventing reinfection or spreading infection to other partners. For more on the role urgent care can play in helping to stem this growing crisis, read STDs: Assessment and Treatment in Urgent Care in the JUCM archives.