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PR-04/22/2008: STD Prevention and Testing Activities Heat Up during National STD Awareness Month

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 22, 2008 San Mateo County Health Department Contact: Beverly Thames, (650) 573-3935 STD Prevention and Testing Activities Heat Up during National STD Awareness Month The San Mateo County Health Department Encourages Residents to Get Tested SAN MATEO, Calif. -- April is National Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Awareness Month. With the goals of increasing public awareness of STDs and decreasing STD prevalence, the San Mateo County Health Department is promoting its STD prevention and treatment services this month by adding special STD and HIV testing clinics in East Palo Alto. For locations, hours and dates for these clinics and the twice weekly clinics in San Mateo, please see the STD Control Program Web site at www.smhealth.org/std. This year's National STD Awareness campaign for San Mateo County is focusing on the importance of residents learning their STD status. The campaign, named "Priceless" includes posters and flyers that highlight the message that testing for STDs (specifically gonorrhea, Chlamydia, syphilis and HIV) comes with the priceless result of knowing your STD status. Posters and flyers can be found throughout the county in April and May of this year. Youth under 25 years and men who have sex with men (MSM) are at a higher risk and more likely to get a STD. It is recommended that these populations receive regular STD testing. Gonorrhea and Chlamydia can be detected with urine tests, but syphilis needs blood for testing. In California, over 80 percent of syphilis cases occur in men, and over half of these cases occur in MSM. In some parts of the county, like East Palo Alto, women make up a larger number of syphilis cases. Condoms protect against all three of these sexually transmitted infections and all of these infections are curable with antibiotics. In San Mateo County, confidential STD and HIV testing and STD treatment are always available twice a week at the Edison Clinic STD Services, located at the San Mateo Medical Center at 222 West 39th Avenue in San Mateo. New additions and changes to the San Mateo County STD Clinic include new rapid HIV testing, where you can learn your HIV results within 30 minutes of testing, and new clinic days and hours. As of April 15, 2008, the new STD clinic schedule is every Tuesday and Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. No appointment is necessary. Although a $20 donation is requested, no one is turned away because of an inability to pay. The clinic phone number is (650) 573-2999. ###