AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) – Health experts say sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in Amarillo and it’s grabbing attention.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, back in 2020, the number of cases in Potter county were 10 times higher compared to Randall.
According to Texas Department of State Health Services, 135 cases of sexually transmitted diseases were recorded in Randall county and 1,090 cases in Potter in 2020.
Local health experts say they have only seen a rise in cases since, and it’s being noticed on a statewide and nationwide level.
“It comes down to are we educating our young people about these infections? It goes back to a certain point to our schools, are we providing students the right education? As to say these are the infections you can get, this is how you prevent them?” says Dr. Brian Weis, Chief Medical Officer at Northwest Texas Healthcare System.
According to Doctor Weis, Amarillo has one of the highest STD rates in Texas.
Doctor Weis also encourages health care providers to test for sexually transmitted diseases in their patients regularly, even if there are no risk factors.
“Unfortunately I see older people come to my clinic in full blown AIDS who never thought they had HIV; never knew they had HIV,” continued Weis.
With seemingly no definite answer as to why the numbers are so contrasting; health experts say the biggest thing is talking about it openly, appropriate education, and more testing.
“Education is power and in this sense of giving people the right information will empower them to be able to avoid these infections,” says Weis.
“Certainly since the beginning of the pandemic we’ve seen higher case counts in syphilis,” says Casie Stoughton, Director of Public Health, Amarillo Public Health Department.
Stoughton says it is very typical for there to be a disparity between Potter and Randall county when talking about rates and the department of public health finds that to be true every year.
She says it is hard to know exactly why the number of rates differ so much, but ways of communication constantly increasing and recently coming out of a pandemic may play a factor.
“So there’s apps on on social media and phones and different ways that people are connecting. As we’re moving out of that pandemic that may be happening more than what we were seeing pre pandemic,” says Stoughton.
The Amarillo Health Department runs a STD clinic, providing low cost appointments and treatments as well as free condoms.
Click here to find out more.
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Discovered on: 2023-03-10 00:00:00
Source: Randall and Potter county seeing differences in STD rates
