Trends in Stanislaus County, California

Sydney Chartrand

Public Health 100

I interviewed Debbie at the Stanislaus County, California Health Department; she is in charge of diseases that need to be reported to the Health Department. The following are the top five diseases that are reported to her:

1.     Chlamydia: Debbie said that Chlamydia is by far the most widely reported disease in Stanislaus county. It is of concern because often it is asymptomatic and hard to treat before spreading. This disease can be treated with simple antibiotics. Debbie said that they try to focus on promoting testing so that those with no symptoms are sure to take care of the disease in a timely manner. Most of the diseases that she reports from Stanislaus County are sexually transmitted.

2.     Gonorrhea: The second most common infectious disease in Stanislaus County is another that is sexually transmitted—gonorrhea. Debbie said that, just this year, she has seen reports of gonorrhea triple! This may be due to increased sexual activity, or increased awareness and STD testing, but they hope that it is the latter. At the end of the year, they will analyze the reports and try to figure out the reason for the increased rates of gonorrhea in 2012. These STD’s are a problem because they are easily spread and can cause PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease) for women later in life.

3.     Syphillis: The suspected third most common infectious disease is, again, a sexually transmitted one. Debbie said that syphilis is one of the hardest to detect without testing, so they have a lot of trouble documenting exact numbers and records for syphilis. Syphilis, if left untreated, can develop into more advanced stages that cause serious and chronic health problems. Regular testing and safe sex is the best way to prevent contracting syphilis. In Stanislaus County, the records of syphilis are (as of this year) not documented, so they estimate that it is the third most prevalent infectious disease.

4.     HIV: Surprisingly, Debbie said that HIV was fourth on the list of trending infectious diseases that need to be reported to the state. I assume this is because most infectious diseases that are acquired on a regular basis, such as the flu or common cold, do not need to be reported. HIV is transmitted sexually, but can be transmitted through any large dose of infected body fluid such as blood or even breast milk. With treatment, the progression of HIV can be delayed but there is no cure. This disease destroys the immune system, and as such is of large concern for Health Departments and must be reported accurately.

5.     HPV: Human Papillomovirus, also known as genital warts, is the fifth most common disease. Debbie said that, now that there is a vaccine, the Health Department is working on strongly encouraging both men and women to immunize against HPV. By doing this, many women can avoid cervical cancer later in life. Also, babies born to mothers with genital warts can often suffer from adverse side effects as well. In talking to Debbie, I was very surprised to learn that all five of the top trends in infectious diseases are related to sexual transmission.