STD Testing in Georgia

Georgia STD Data

STD data & statistics in Georgia

The Georgia Department of Public Health reports that the state is ranked among the top ten highly affected states in the US when it comes to STDs. Middle Georgia has registered the highest STD rates as there were around 1,310 gonorrhea cases, 3,863 chlamydia cases, and 42 syphilis cases apart from over 2,000 cases of HIV.

The state ranks fourth in the country for both primary and secondary syphilis cases and is ranked tenth for congenital syphilis cases, as per the year 2017 data. It is at number 6 for chlamydia with 65,104 diagnoses (623 cases/100,000 people). Georgia's chlamydia infection rate is approx. 18% higher than the overall national rate, while in 2013, the state recorded a 34% rise in the number of chlamydia cases. The rate of gonorrhea infection in Georgia is about 25% higher than the national average with 217 cases/100,000 population (22,667 diagnoses), and its primary and secondary syphilis rate is 50% above the national level (1,489 primary and secondary stage cases). In fact, primary and secondary syphilis cases have been rising steadily since 2010, and since 2001 the state's syphilis rate has more than doubled.

Atlanta metro area is most affected by chlamydia than any other region in Georgia. Over one in two gonorrhea cases in 2017 occurred in this region, and around all primary and secondary syphilis cases that year were reported in the Atlanta metro area.

Testing for HIV is Vital

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that about 1 in 51 Georgians may be diagnosed with HIV some time in their life, which is quite concerning, especially if compared to other states like North Dakota where 1 in 670 people are expected to have HIV. Although the state comprises just 3.1% of the entire US populace, as per the year 2014 data, nearly 6.4%of all new HIV diagnoses and over 5% of PLWH were in Georgia.

Moreover, around 19% of PLWH are unaware of their status. Approximately 23% of Georgians were diagnosed with AIDS within three months of getting diagnosed with HIV in 2018. This results from late testing, as the patients harbored the virus for a very long period and did not receive appropriate treatment to prevent deterioration of their immune system.

CDC recommends that HIV testing be part of routine health care for every individual between 13 and 64. High-risk individuals must get tested once a year, as per the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). Furthermore, pregnant women must get tested for HIV and STDs on their first prenatal visit, and ideally, repeat screening should be performed in the third trimester.

HIV Rates in Georgia

Georgia ranks number 3 in HIV risk and fourth for new HIV diagnoses in the US, according to a study from Health Testing Centers using the data from CDC. The state also has the highest rate of new diagnoses in the south-eastern US, with 30 people/100,000 diagnosed with HIV. One in six PLWH in the state is unaware of their condition, which increases the risk transmission to others tremendously, claims the Georgia Department of Public Health.

According to AIDSVu, the US South comprises more than half of all new HIV diagnoses, while in 2016, Georgia had approx. 51,350 PLWH. There were over 1,500 cases in Fulton County, and in DeKalb County, over 1,200 cases per 100,000 people were reported.

The situation worsened by 2018 as that year, nearly 55,000 people in Georgia were living with HIV, with over 2500 new diagnoses reported that year. Medical experts claim that factors like social stigma surrounding HIV testing and lackluster expansion of programs like the Medicaid program that would offer comprehensive health coverage to low-income people are the primary factors behind such an alarming increase.

Age, Gender, and Ethnic Disparities

Primary and secondary syphilis and congenital syphilis have remained a serious health concern primarily among men who have sex with men (MSM) and pregnant females, reported CDC. In 2011, the rate of primary/secondary syphilis in Georgia was around 6.5/100,000 population and rose to 14/100,000 people by 2015. Georgian females are most affected by chlamydia. Between 2011 and 2015, the state recorded a nearly 2.2 times increase in chlamydia cases among females as the cases increased from 349 to 779 per 100,000 people.

Furthermore, STD and teen pregnancy rates are higher among Georgian youth in comparison to the national average. In 2013, the rate of pregnancies among females between ages 15-19 in Georgia was 30.5/1000 women, while the national average was 26 pregnancies/1000 women. The state's teen pregnancy rate is 12th highest in the country.

Similarly, the state has recorded higher STI rates among young people than the rest of the US youth. In 2014, Georgia's rank was 8th in the country regarding the number of chlamydia and gonorrhea cases among people between 15 and 24, with an infection rate of over 2500 cases and 552 cases respectively per100,000 people. It is even more concerning that Georgia ranked 2nd in the country for primary and secondary syphilis cases among people aged between 15-24 with 24.3 cases/100,000.

LGBTQ youth in the state is also at an increased risk of STIs and HIV, as this group isn't protected from marginalization. In 2010, just 30 percent of school districts had implemented LGBTQ-related bullying prevention policies. This makes Georgia's LGBTQ youth more vulnerable to substance abuse, depression, and sexual behaviors that may expose them to STDs and HIV.

Regarding senior adults (aged 55 or above), Georgia happens to be among the US's high-risk states due to the growth in STD cases among the elderly. According to CDC and TheSeniorList.com's recent study, the state has recorded a staggering 131% increase in STD cases among senior citizens between 2008 and 2017, with a 68% increase in gonorrhea cases, 152% rise in syphilis, and 108.9% rise in chlamydia cases.

HIV-Specific Data

In 2017, there were around 2,698 new diagnoses of HIV in the state, at a rate of 31.2/100,000 people aged 13 and above. In Georgia state, the rate of HIV diagnoses is the highest among males (over 75%) in comparison to females (24.2%). In 2016, around 68.5% PLWH were African-Americans, 7% were Hispanics/Latinos, and 19% were white.

The proportion of HIV infection rate across different ethnic groups in Georgia hasn't changed much over the years as in 2018, the infection rate for Blacks was 68%, 7.5% for Hispanics, and 18% for whites.

As per the year 2018 statistics, people between 45 and 54 years and senior citizens (people aged 55 or above) accounted for the largest share of HIV infection rates across all age groups, with 26% and 27.5% PLWH, respectively. The infection rate in people between ages 13 and 24 and adults between ages 25-44 was relatively low, with 4% and 20.9%, respectively.

Atlanta and the metro area are the worst affected regions in Georgia. Atlanta's HIV diagnosis rate was around eight times higher than the national average. Lack of health insurance, poverty, insufficient sex education, and stigma surrounding HIV has contributed greatly to intensifying the HIV crisis. The LGBTQ community is among the high-risk groups of people as their families have shunned them, and most of them end up on the street.

In many urban areas, these issues are commonplace. Still, it is particularly entrenched in Atlanta, where the virus is disproportionately impacting the African-American population, particularly MSM (men who have sex with men). The rate of black males living with HIV in Atlanta is five times higher than white males and 15 times higher for Black females than white females.

In 2018, around 71% of the total deaths reported among PLWH were males and 29% females. Out of these, 68% were African-Americans, 21% whites, and 3.6% were Hispanics/Latinos. Age-wise, the mortality rate was highest for people aged between 45-55 and above 55 years.

STD Prevention Initiatives

In Georgia, the CDC supports the state health department through regular funding to offer science-based STDs control and prevention services. The state and CDC collectively perform research and development to provide scalable, sustainable, high impact, and cost-effective plans to reduce STDs.

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DOPH) has integrated its STD and HIV programs and aims to decrease the demarcation existing between STD and HIV care. For instance, in Georgia, only HIV specimens are couriered to laboratories, and STD specimens are left behind.

Since the data related to HIV and STD cases remains segregated, it becomes difficult for the state health department to identify patients infected with both HIV and STD. To address this issue, the health department has added linkage to care to STDs' database and cross-matches the STD and HIV databases. Since the department doesn't have the necessary infrastructure to check every case, it mainly focuses on increasing awareness among the general public.

The DOPH offers confidential and free-of-charge HIV and STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing for chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and gonorrhea in collaboration with Student Health Promotion, DeKalb, and Futon County Health Departments.

HIV Prevention Initiatives

The government of Georgia has declared public health as its primary priority. In 2013, the state announced Universal Health Care Program (UHC), and in 2014 it approved a promising 2014-2020 State Concept of Health Care System of Georgia for UHC and Quality Control for the Protection of Patient's Rights. The state has acknowledged HIV/AIDS as one of the high-priority communicable diseases. The general spending on health care has also increased considerably over the years. For instance, from 4% in 2008, the funding was increased to 7% in 2014. With the Universal Health Program's introduction, the state's budgetary allocation increased substantially, recording around a 9% increase in 2016.

The Georgia Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan is developed to identify HIV prevention and care needs, barriers to testing, existing resources, jurisdictional gaps, and outlines of productive strategies to address the issues.

The plan aligns with the NHAS goals and utilizes the intent and principles of the HIV Care Continuum for needs assessment and service delivery. The three key areas of focus under this plan include enabling statewide coordination for needs assessment, integrating HIV Prevention and Care Plan, and monitoring the implementation and results of the prevention and care strategies.

Furthermore, the State of Georgia provides care and treatment services to poor, uninsured, and high-risk populations through Ryan White Part B. It is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). CDC also supports prevention efforts for 157 out of 159 counties in Georgia and 16 out of 18 Public Health Districts.

CDC funds prevention programs in DeKalb and Fulton Counties, administered by the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness. Moreover, the City of Atlanta Jurisdictional HIV Prevention Planning Group (JPPG) is responsible for offering recommendations for the High Impact HIV Prevention Program (HIPP) for Fulton County.

The Ryan White Part B Program provides funding for essential medical and supportive services for PLWH or AIDS across the state's 16 health districts. It also manages the Georgia AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and the Health Insurance Continuation Program (HICP).

Furthermore, Ryan White Part B funds are used to educate the health care professionals and the general public about HIV/AIDS, the significance of early diagnoses, and monitoring of medical care and case management services quality.

The state's HIV testing program is developed and coordinated by the Georgia HIPP, providing training and capacity building opportunities to community partners and public health staff. Routine HIV testing is offered at all health clinic locations, and patients are encouraged to start preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which can prevent the risk of HIV transmission by 99%.

Sexual Education in Georgia

Sexual health education or sex-ed is crucial to curtailing the prevailing STD crisis in Georgia. Georgia needs to develop culturally sensitive as well as evidence-based sex-ed programs. Many Georgians, including teachers, aren't sufficiently equipped to make informed decisions about STDs/STIs risk. Georgia is home to the CDC, and therefore, the state is in a unique position to devise and implement evidence-based sex-ed interventions.

The state of Georgia, although mandates that sex-ed and HIV education should be provided in schools, the state law doesn't require the curriculum to be age appropriate, medically accurate, unbiased, and culturally relevant. Moreover, Georgia allows the promotion of religion through sex education and makes it necessary for teachers to emphasize abstinence until marriage. Ironically, just 34% of Georgian schools taught students about the importance of using condoms in 2014, and only 14% informed students on how to use a condom.

In the fiscal year 2014, local Georgian entities and the state government received $2,682 391 in abstinence education funds. The funds were released for the Competitive Abstinence Education Program and the Title V State Abstinence Education Program. Under this program, programs receiving funds use inappropriate practices to create awareness among students, such as shame and fear-based tactics, such as comparing sexually active students with used chewing gum. It also promotes misleading information to students.

Comprehensive sexual health education is necessary, but it must offer accurate information about the use of condoms, abstinence, and contraception. If such a curriculum is developed in Georgia, teen pregnancy rates would surely come down. Students will be more aware of safe sex practices and would undergo STDs testing at the right time.