April is National STD Awareness Month

Maine CDC is joining the nation in recognizing April as Sexually Transmitted Disease Awareness Month. This year’s theme is Know the Facts and GYT: Get Yourself Tested.

STDs occur mostly among younger populations, but can affect anyone. According to US CDC, many people make false assumptions about how STD tests are performed, who should get tested, and the treatment of STDs. This may prevent people from seeking the testing and treatment they need.

In the U.S., there are approximately 20 million STDs diagnosed annually, with nearly half occurring in teenagers and young adults. For example, in 2014, Maine had 3,538 cases of Chlamydia reported, with 68 percent of the cases occurring in 15 to 24 year-olds. Gonorrhea accounted for 243 cases with 53 percent of the cases being diagnosed in 20 to 29 year-olds.

All STDs are preventable and can be treated. Most have no physical signs or symptoms, so the only way to know with certainty is to be tested. Left untreated, some STDs can have significant long-term health consequences, like being unable to have children or long-term pelvic pain for example.

For more information about where to get testing, treatment, or disease reporting in Maine, please visit http://www.mainepublichealth.gov/std 

Gonorrhea

US CDC has issued an MMWR describing the growing threat of multidrug-resistant gonorrhea and what public health agencies and partners can do to delay the emergence of cephalosporin-resistant strains, mitigate the public health consequences of expanded resistance, and prevent a return to the era of untreatable gonorrhea. For these strategies and more information, see the MMWR at: http://go.usa.gov/4JY3


A total of 40 confirmed gonorrhea cases have been reported in Maine through Feb. 16, compared to 54 reported cases in 2012 and 19 reported cases in 2011 during the same period. Some cases are reported more than once and may represent reinfection, recurrent infection, or persistent infection.

The majority of cases have been reported in Androscoggin County, followed by Cumberland County. Maine CDC is issuing biweekly gonorrhea surveillance updates. The most recent report is available at: http://go.usa.gov/4JrF

Current treatment guidelines and reporting requirements are included in this Health Alert from Dec. 4: http://go.usa.gov/4JY9

Update on HIV, STDs, and Viral Hepatitis

The Maine HIV, STD, and Viral Hepatitis program has updated its web site. For easy access to information and resources, check out www.mainepublichealth.gov/hivstdhep

The Sixth Annual Comprehensive Sexuality Education Conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 7 at the Augusta Civic Center.

Keynote speaker is Pamela Wilson, M.S.W., author of Our Whole lives: Sexuality Education for Grades 7-9. Workshops focus on foundational knowledge and skills, networking opportunities, and innovative ideas to put into practice.

The cost is $40 before March 18 and $50 after March 18.

The conference is co-sponsored by: Family Planning Association of Maine; Maine Department of Education; Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention, an Office of the Department of Health & Human Services; New Beginnings; University of Maine Farmington; and the Maine Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

For more information and to register: https://www.mainefamilyplanning.org/forms/conference_form.php

HIV

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has released the report HIV Screening and Access to Care: Exploring the Impact of Policies on Access to and Provision of HIV Care. The report examines how Federal and State laws and policies and private health insurance policies affect entry into clinical care and the provision of continuous and sustained care for people with HIV.

US CDC has published an article on disparities in HIV diagnoses among African Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities.

STDs

US CDC published the article “Discordant Results from Reverse Sequence Syphilis Screening” in the MMWR.

Viral Hepatitis

US CDC has made new patient education materials related to hepatitis available on its website.

The following articles have been published in the MMWR:

• Potential Transmission of Viral Hepatitis Through Use of Stored Blood Vessels as Conduits in Organ Transplantation
• Deaths from Acute Hepatitis B Virus Infection Associated with Assisted Blood Glucose Monitoring in an Assisted-Living Facility

HIV/STD Update

World AIDS Day

December 1 is World AIDS Day. There are approximately 1,462 people estimated to be living in Maine with diagnosed HIV infection. In addition, Maine CDC estimates that about 388 people in Maine may be infected but unaware of their HIV status. Worldwide, more than 33 million people are estimated to be living with HIV. For more information on World AIDS Day: http://www.aids.gov/world-aids-day/ For more information on HIV/AIDS in Maine: www.mainepublichealth.gov/hivstdhep

Syphilis

Since mid-July, health care providers in Maine have diagnosed 19 cases of early syphilis, ages 19-56, in Cumberland, Penobscot, Waldo and York Counties. Eleven cases were primary syphilis, 5 cases were secondary syphilis, and 3 cases were early latent syphilis. All 19 cases were among men who have sex with men (MSM). Eight of the 19 individuals (42%) are known to be HIV positive. A total of 33 cases of early syphilis have been reported since the beginning of the calendar year. For more information, see this Health Alert: http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=DHHS-HAN&id=152027&v=alert

PrEP

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced the results of an international clinical trial, co-sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, that examined whether a pill containing two drugs used to treat HIV can also help prevent HIV infection – an approach called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. The trial found that daily oral use of Truvada ® provided an average of 44 percent additional protection to trial participants that included gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), as well as transgendered women who have sex with men. These participants also received a comprehensive package of prevention services that included monthly HIV testing, condom provision, counseling, and management of other sexually transmitted infections.

US CDC will fully review the trial data and publish interim guidance in the coming weeks in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, to be followed in several months by formal U.S. Public Health Service guidelines. The agency urges individuals and their doctors to await those guidelines before use. For more information, please refer to the PrEP fact sheet: http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/PrEPforHIVFactSheet.html

This blog has additional information from the White House.

Sixth Annual Comprehensive Sexuality Education Conference

Save the date for the sixth annual Comprehensive Sexuality Education Conference, which will be held April 7 at the Augusta Civic Center. It is sponsored by: Family Planning Association of Maine; Maine Department of Education, Maine CDC; New Beginnings; University of Maine at Farmington; and the Maine Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

April is STD Awareness Month

April is STD Awareness Month. Maine CDC’s STD program conducts disease surveillance for gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis. Disease intervention specialists provide critical follow-up activities, including notification of disease; treatment verification for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV; and partner services for all.

The HIV, STD and Viral Hepatitis Program funds STD clinics in Portland, Bangor, and Lewiston, and partners with the Family Planning Association of Maine and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England on the Infertility Prevention Project, which targets females 15-24 years-old and their partners.

Chlamydia is the most frequently reported STD in Maine, with 2,443 cases in 2009. Chlamydia disproportionately affects individuals in the 15-24 age group, and is reported in three females for every one male.

Gonorrhea typically affects a slightly older age range than Chlamydia, but during 2008 and 2009 nearly half of diagnoses occurred in the 15-24 age range, while less than a quarter were 25-29 years-old. There were 143 cases of gonorrhea reported in 2009, and 60 cases have already been reported in the first three months of 2010. We are seeing more cases among females and fewer diagnoses among men who have sex with men (MSM).

Over the past decade, annual syphilis counts have varied and until recent years had remained low, with fewer than 5 cases during most years. Cases counts peaked in 2008, with 20 cases, compared to 14 last year. Syphilis in Maine affects MSM disproportionately.

For more information about National STD Awareness month visit: www.cdcnpin.org/stdawareness or www.gyt10.org