Tom Green County Reports Increase in Syphilis and HIV/AIDS

SAN ANGELO, TX- Syphilis in on the rise this year in Tom Green County according to Texas Heath professionals. Reports from the Texas State Department of Health Services (SDHS) also shows a general increase of AIDS/HIV in the area.

The Statistics

Below are the Cases/Rate of HIV/AIDS in our area:

AIDS Diagnosis Report: Tom Green

HIV Diagnosis Report: Tom Green

Number people living with HIV and cumulative diagnosis with HIV in Tom Green as of December 31, 2015

* Full report for other counties: http://www.dshs.texas.gov/hivstd/reports/HIVSurveillanceReport.pdf

The 2016 statistics won’t be released until next year because the reports stay one year behind to the end of January.

Additionally, a representative of SDHS mentioned, overall, there indeed has been an increase in Syphilis for West Texas counties in the last year. The representative explained results can be skewed at times given that small towns where cases are reported, and can yield a “high morbidity rate (faster spread of a disease in a population)," given there might only be 50 people in the town. 

This conclusion leads the SDHS and Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to understand the spread of a certain type of STD in an area.

According to the SDHS, Syphilis is a very serious STD caused by a germ that individuals can get from any sexual contact with the penis, vagina, mouth, or anus of a person who has the disease. A pregnant woman can also pass it to her unborn child.

Marie Aguilar, head nurse at the City Health Department, spoke about also seeing an increase of Syphilis cases that were treated at the office in the last year.

“Gonorrhea and Chlamydia are always [consistent], but Syphilis has seen an increase recently,” Aguilar said.

She explained that these occurrence come and go in waves; however, she explained these occurrences have been more consistent in the last couple of years for Tom Green. 

According to the 2015 annul AIDS/HIV report provided by the the SDHS,the number of total syphilis casesin Texas was 8,385, with the total rate per every 100,000 Texas residents showing a 30.5 percent change in total syphilis rates. This changed from the 2014 report that showed a +7.4 percent rate. 

As the city’s population grows, there have been increases in these kind of STDs. Some factors might include all of the students who move to San Angelo for college, or groups that move here for their field of work.

Aguilar did mention there is no direct correlation for these factors having caused the increase of Syphilis; however, these are some of the contributing factors seen when city’s report rapid occurrences of STD and HIV across the board.  

What has been done to contain and prevent Syphilis

In October 1999, the CDC, in collaboration with federal, state, local, and non-governmental partners, launched “The National Plan to Eliminate Syphilis.”

In the plan, CDC identified key strategies needed for successful elimination of syphilis from the U.S that "expanded surveillance and outbreak response activities, rapid screening and treatment in and out of medical settings, expanded laboratory services, strengthened community involvement and agency partnerships, and enhanced health promotion." 

In Texas, a state-wide Syphilis Elimination Plan was first distributed in 2000. The Texas Plan outlined the activities that mirrored the National Plan published in 1999. The Texas Syphilis Elimination Plan was updated in 2008 to include the following:

• Surveillance
• Clinic and Laboratory Services
• Community Involvement
• Health Care Provider Involvement
• Priority Interventions
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Training and Staff Development
• Rapid Response

Follow the link http://www.dshs.texas.gov/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=61943 to read the full report regarding both the national and Texas plans for eliminating Syphilis.