Healthbeat 4: Siouxland District Health District aims to educate the community on STI preventative care
SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - The Siouxland District Health Department aims to reduce and prevent the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases.
“Woodbury County and our region tend to have higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, especially in our region,” said Tyler Brock, Director of Laboratory Services at Siouxland District Health Department.
So far in 2024 for Woodbury County, 160 cases of chlamydia have been reported, followed by 47 cases of Gonorrhea, and 20 cases of Syphilis.
“These infections while they’re common any list of most common infectious diseases in any year is going to include things like Chlamydia and gonorrhea right at the top of the list,” said Brock.
“We’re really just trying to break that infection cycle. If we get one case, one person is tested and treated properly. Hopefully, that breaks the cycle of them, then going on to pass that on to other people as well,” added Brock.
Testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV is available for free to anyone needing the service.
Siouxland District Health Department says that once someone is diagnosed, they can also provide free treatment plans.
“A lot of times if they go untreated can cause serious problems in pregnancies. You know, with low birth weight babies preterm labor, it can cause infertility issues, certain types of cancers can be associated with sexually transmitted infections, there are - it is not just always a simple infection that you just go take an antibiotic for,” said Brock.
The goal is to ensure these problems are treated early and taken seriously.
“Reasons why STIs are so common is because people don’t always realize that they’ve got it, the symptoms are not always really obvious,” said Brock. “So we’d like to do an exam just to make sure that there’s you know, just to identify anything that can be seen visually or through an exam. But then we have a handful of diagnostic tests. Most of them are fairly noninvasive, they’re fairly easy to do.”
When asked about age, this can impact anyone.
Brock explained, “For chlamydia, for instance, it tends to be our younger folks, people aged 15 through 24, for example, is the most common age group for chlamydia. Gonorrhea and syphilis tend to be a little bit of an older demographic in terms of age, but honestly, STIs cover all ages. They cover all communities, raised ethnicities, we’ve got all kinds the whole spectrum can be affected by these infections.”
Follow this link to make an appointment at the Siouxland District Health Department or Siouxland Community Health Center to talk to a medical professional.
Testing is available to anyone even if you live across state lines.
The clinic staff will review this information with you before testing.
As a part of the effort, Free condoms are also available in the public restrooms located in the lobby of the Siouxland Health Department in downtown Sioux City.
Copyright 2024 KTIV. All rights reserved.
