STD cases increase 14% last year in Maricopa County
Cases of sexuallytransmitted diseases in metro Phoenix continued to spike in 2017, mirroring a nationwide trend that has prompted public health officials to encourage prevention and more frequent testing.
The total number of Maricopa County cases soared 14 percent in 2017, continuing a years-long trend.
Overall, there were 35,859 reports of sexually-transmitted diseases in Maricopa County in 2017, up from 31,721 cases from the year before.
The number of new Maricopa County cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis all increased at double-digit rates last year. The number of new HIV infections dropped to 419 in 2017 from 474 new cases in 2016, which was the highest mark in more than two decades.
Pinal County reported similar increases in gonorrhea and syphilis, and public health officials there are scrambling on ways to curb the trend.
Public health officials are emphasizing both prevention and testing because chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis can be cured with antibiotics. Left untreated, these infections can result in infertility, pregnancy complications or increase the risk of HIV transmission.
“Our local increase mirrors the nationwide increases,” said Shauna McIsaac, director and chief medical officer of Pinal County’s public health district. “The message we want to get out is the importance of getting tested and treated.”
County health officials said the 2017 preliminary figures may increase when final figures are reported to the Arizona Department of Health Services in April. The state reports are compiled and sent to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which will release nationwide figures in the fall.
The CDC reported last September a record number of infections in 2016 with more than 2 million new cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in 2016. At the time, CDC officials said the rapid growth of STDs were outpacing health officials’ ability to respond.
Local health officials said that the 2017 figures show the problem seems to be worsening from last year’s record infections.
Officials said that young adults may not fear HIV transmission as the once-deadly virus has become more of a chronic condition that can be managed with medication. Some appear more willing to engage in risky, unprotected sex, which has lead to the spread of preventable STDs.
Social-networking apps like Tinder and Grindr that promote instant connections may encourage risky behavior, experts said.
“We have seen some behavioral changes,” said Tom Mickey, a Maricopa County Department of Public Health program manager. “There is more anonymity with the app partners.”
The emergence of apps also create challenges for public-health officials who work to track partners of STD-infected individuals to encourage those individuals to be tested and treated.
Experts say another public-health challenge remains the stigma of these diseases. Many are unwilling to be tested, even if testing and treatment can prevent a more serious health issue down the road.
“Reproductive health care is a difficult conversation in America that people don’t want to have,” said Bré Thomas, CEO of the Arizona Family Health Partnership. “The real problem is people don’t know about an STD, don’t know how to get treated and don’t know where to go.”
Maricopa County has paid for billboards, print and online advertisements encouraging people engaged in risky sexual behaviors to get tested.
But the billboards came down in December, and the county will adopt less expensive, targeted outreach in 2018 due to county budget cuts.
Pinal County plans to increase disease-awareness messages on social media sites also. The number of Pinal County syphilis cases skyrocketed from 7 cases in 2015 to 45 cases in 2017. New gonorrhea infections have surged 73 percent over the past two years.