Holmes County reports 520 gonorrhea cases per 100,000 residents, well above the US average. In Tchula, Mississippi, if you've had a recent risk or simply test on a regular schedule, weigh the trade-offs between public clinics, private labs, and at-home kits. Here are your options.
Available testing centers
7 testing options are listed for Tchula, MS. The nearest, Tchula Clinic, is about 1.3 miles away. Compare 3 community and public clinics, private labs, and at-home kits below.
Listings tagged Community health center are federally funded health centers and rural clinics that treat everyone regardless of insurance or ability to pay: required to bill on a sliding fee scale and provide confidential care, and in many states minors may consent to their own STI testing. A Title X tag flags centers funded for confidential family-planning services; confirm current participation when you call.
Source: CMS FQHC & Rural Health Clinic enrollment files (data.cms.gov), refreshed quarterly. Title X status reflects the latest OPA grantee list.
Tchula Clinic, in Tchula, earns its federal health center designation partly by tying fees to what patients actually earn. No one is turned away for inability to pay. Walk-in STI screening covers syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, with costs scaled to income.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Dr Arenia C Mallory Community Health Center in Tchula runs on a sliding scale and accepts Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance, with fees set to income. Appointments are required for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and conventional HIV testing, with same-visit treatment for bacterial infections and care delivered in Spanish.
Dr Arenia C Mallory Community Health Center carries clinical services directly in Spanish: meaning STI counseling, treatment decisions, and PrEP conversations happen in Spanish without mediation. For a patient working through prevention options or a new diagnosis, that directness shapes what questions get asked and what gets understood.
When PrEP isn't available at a primary care visit, the gap between interest and prescription can stretch into weeks, and lapsed momentum often means no prescription at all. Dr Arenia C Mallory Community Health Center prescribes PrEP and provides PEP on-site, so the clinical relationship that starts with testing can carry straight through to ongoing HIV prevention without sending patients elsewhere.
Languages
English, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Jun 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
A safety-net federally qualified health center about 11 miles from Tchula. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
Fees & payment
Free tool · not a clinic
Testing too soon can miss an infection. Enter the date of possible exposure to see the earliest a test can reliably detect each STI.
| Infection | Earliest reliable test | Conclusive after |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 7 days after exposure | 14 days after exposure |
| Gonorrhea | 7 days after exposure | 14 days after exposure |
| Trichomoniasis | 7 days after exposure | 28 days after exposure |
| HIV (NAT / RNA) | 10 days after exposure | 33 days after exposure |
| HIV (4th-gen Ag/Ab) | 18 days after exposure | 45 days after exposure |
| HIV (antibody) | 21 days after exposure | 84 days after exposure |
| Syphilis | 21 days after exposure | 42 days after exposure |
| Hepatitis B | 21 days after exposure | 42 days after exposure |
| Hepatitis C | 56 days after exposure | 77 days after exposure |
| Herpes (HSV) | 28 days after exposure | 112 days after exposure |
Guidance only, confirm timing with a clinician. A negative result before the conclusive date may need a repeat test.
Typical out-of-pocket ranges by option, actual cost depends on which tests you need.
Public / community clinic
Free HIV testing is common
Private lab (self-pay)
Never billed to insurance
At-home kit
Mailed to your door, private
Doctor / urgent care
Often $0 preventive with insurance
No centers match those filters. Clear the service-type filter or the opening-hours filters to see every center.
Every other option
Beyond the dedicated testing centers above: at-home kits by mail, hospital labs certified for STI testing, local clinicians who can order a panel during a regular visit, pharmacies for self-test kits and prescriptions, and online PrEP & treatment.
Test from home
The nearest testing center is about 1 mile away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Tchula, you collect the sample privately, and mail it back to a CLIA-certified lab. Results come online in days, with a clinician available if anything is positive. Same labs as a clinic, no waiting room, and you can read how accurate at-home STD tests are before you order.
Want a free option first? The CDC-supported TakeMeHome (opens in a new tab) program mails free at-home HIV self-test kits, and, in many areas, free STI kits, to your door, with no insurance or payment needed. The paid kits below add broader panels and faster turnaround.
In-home collection
$79 & up
Best value: single tests
$49 & up
Best range: couples & full panels
$79 & up
Every kit uses CLIA-certified labs. At-home testing is for screening; a reactive result should be confirmed and treated by a clinician. Prices and panels shown are illustrative and change often, confirm current details on the provider's site.
Also in the area
Beyond the public testing sites above, these federally certified (CLIA) labs serve Holmes County, each lab's town is shown on its card below. Many test through a doctor's order or by appointment rather than walk-in, so call ahead to confirm STD/STI testing and availability before visiting.
239 Bowling Green Road, Lexington, MS 39095
CMS-certified lab
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Tchula. A CLIA certificate records only that a laboratory is federally certified — it does not confirm the site performs STD testing, nor its hours, price or access. Inclusion is not an endorsement; always call to verify.
Local clinicians
Beyond dedicated clinics, 28 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Tchula. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 3 offer telehealth.
Abiola Oke, MD
Family medicine · 17280 Hwy 17, Lexington
Elias Abboud, MD
Family medicine · 22741 Hwy 12, Lexington
Ayaaz Habibullah, MD Telehealth
Family medicine · 239 Bowling Green Road, Lexington
Walter Gorton, MD
Internal medicine · 107 Church Street, Belzoni
Calvin Ramsey, MD
Internal medicine · 403 Northwest Depot Street, Durant
Valencia Martin, MD
Family medicine · 517 Hwy 82 West, Greenwood
These are registry-listed clinicians, not dedicated STD-testing clinics. CMS records do not independently verify current licensure, testing services, availability, price, or new-patient status. Confirm each detail before booking. Source: CMS Doctors & Clinicians.
Nearby pharmacies
No pharmacy near Tchula, MS publishes an STD-related service or holds a current CLIA testing certificate, so these are simply the closest. Contact a location directly to confirm counter hours, services, prices, and availability before visiting.
Haire Drug Center
0.0 miFreds Pharmacy 2176
11 miJitney Pharmacies
11 miLexington Discount Pharmacy
12 miG&P Pharmacy
15 miA&A Pharmacy Belzoni
15 miShowing the 6 closest pharmacies to Tchula, MS.
Directory records identify nearby pharmacies. Service, stock, price, and hours information is shown only when supported by current location-specific evidence.
Prevention & treatment
Testing is one step. For residents of Tchula, telehealth covers the rest: HIV-prevention medication (PrEP) and DoxyPEP to lower future risk, and discreet online treatment if a result comes back positive. All prescribed by licensed U.S. clinicians.
$0 with most insurance
Free online PrEP & DoxyPEP: HIV prevention, home lab kits, no in-person visit
Visit from $39
Online STI treatment & DoxyPEP: same-day prescriptions to your pharmacy
Visit from $0 insured
Telehealth STI treatment and sexual-health care, delivered or to your pharmacy
From $0 insured
Telehealth PrEP & DoxyPEP with at-home testing and ongoing monitoring
Pricing varies by insurance and changes often, confirm on the provider's site. These services are not a substitute for emergency care.
STD stats & rates
How reported STI rates in Holmes County, the county that includes Tchula, compare with Mississippi and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~31% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#3 of 82 Mississippi counties for chlamydia, among the very highest in the state
| Infection | Holmes County | Mississippi | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 1907.8 301 cases ▲ 172% | 700.9 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 519.7 82 cases ▲ 107% | 251.1 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | — no data | 30.1 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 12.7 2 cases ▼ 22% | 16.3 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 57 9 cases ▼ 12% | 64.8 | 29.5 |
Rates per 100,000 population, 2023. Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county, state & U.S., all-ages basis). Population figures: U.S. Census Bureau ACS. These figures are the latest available surveillance estimates. Bars are scaled to the highest rate shown.
Reading these numbers: reported case rates only count infections that were actually tested for and diagnosed, so they track local screening effort as much as true spread: a higher rate can reflect more testing, a lower one less. Either way, most STIs cause no symptoms, so treat the figures above as context rather than a verdict, and test on the CDC's schedule regardless of how your area looks.
Between 2020 and 2023 in Holmes County, chlamydia has risen from 1376.5 to 1907.8 per 100,000 (39%), gonorrhea has fallen from 741.2 to 519.7 per 100,000 (30%), and P&S syphilis has risen from 17.6 to 24.8 per 100,000 (41%).
The 2020 dip reflects reduced pandemic-era screening, not lower transmission. Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county, state & U.S., all-ages basis).
Community health context
Sources: CDC PLACES (ZIP), County Health Rankings, CDC/ATSDR SVI, HRSA HPSA, HRSA MUA/P, Neighborhood Atlas ADI. Lower insurance coverage, fewer routine checkups, and a thin primary-care ratio all raise the value of low-cost public clinics and at-home testing in Holmes County.
Local HIV snapshot
Federal priority area: Mississippi is one of the U.S. jurisdictions prioritized under the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative: targeted federal funding to expand local HIV testing, PrEP, and prevention.
Holmes County HIV care continuum (2023)
Among Holmes County residents living with HIV, 79.1% are in care · 59.7% are virally suppressed. Early, routine testing is what moves these numbers: it is the entry point to PrEP, treatment, and viral suppression.
Sources: AIDSVu (Emory/Gilead) · CDC AHEAD · CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county care continuum). The CDC recommends everyone aged 13–64 test for HIV at least once: every lab and clinic listed above offers HIV testing, and free rapid HIV testing is available at a local health department.
Congenital syphilis, passed from parent to baby in pregnancy, is the fastest-rising STI in the country. U.S. cases climbed from 2,163 in 2020 to 3,882 in 2023. It is almost entirely preventable: the CDC recommends a syphilis test at the first prenatal visit, and every clinic and lab listed for Holmes County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Along Martin Luther King Drive, most households here are renters (a majority of Tchula residents, not a small slice) and with typical monthly rent sitting well below state averages, budgets stay tight in different ways: less cash strain on housing, but persistent economic pressure from an unemployment rate that leaves a significant share of working-age adults outside the formal workforce entirely. That reality shapes daily life for younger adults in their late teens and twenties, who make up a substantial share of Tchula's population and are navigating relationships, shifting living situations, and the kind of instability that makes routine health maintenance easy to defer. Household structure here tells another story worth holding: average households run nearly four people, while the share of married adults is exceptionally low, meaning most of those larger homes are built around extended family, roommates, or single-parent arrangements.
Not partnered couples. For people in that life stage, STI screening rarely feels urgent until symptoms appear, yet that's exactly when regular testing does the most preventive good. That single logistical fact (not stigma, not cost, just miles) is the most concrete barrier between a resident and a negative result they can act on.
Getting there
At 3.7/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Tchula generally mean driving: plan on a car or rideshare to reach a clinic, and check each listing's hours and phone before you go.
Source: EPA National Walkability Index 2021.
ZIP 39169 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 39169 area around Tchula: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Tchula alone.
Tchula sits in Holmes County, ZIP 39169. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Tchula? These nearby communities have their own testing guides: clinics, at-home kits, and free screening close to home.
Reference
Everything to know before you test in Holmes County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Mississippi law. If you have symptoms right now, our confidential symptom checker maps them to the tests worth considering.
Based on current CDC screening recommendations.
| Group | Tests | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone aged 13–64 | HIV | At least once |
| Sexually active women under 25 | Chlamydia, gonorrhea | Every year |
| Women 25+ with new or multiple partners | Chlamydia, gonorrhea | Every year |
| Pregnant people | HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B & C, chlamydia | Early in pregnancy |
| Gay & bisexual men (MSM) | Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV | Every 3–6 months |
| Anyone who shares injection equipment | HIV, hepatitis B & C | At least yearly |
| All adults at least once | Hepatitis C | At least once |
Testing too early can return a false negative, confirm timing with a Tchula-area provider.
| Infection | Earliest reliable test | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 1–2 weeks | Urine or swab |
| Gonorrhea | 1–2 weeks | Urine or swab |
| Trichomoniasis | 1–4 weeks | Urine or swab |
| HIV (NAT / RNA) | 10–33 days | Blood |
| HIV (4th-gen Ag/Ab) | 18–45 days | Blood |
| HIV (antibody) | 3–12 weeks | Blood / oral |
| Syphilis | 3–6 weeks | Blood |
| Hepatitis B | 3–6 weeks | Blood |
| Hepatitis C | 8–11 weeks | Blood |
| Herpes (HSV) | 4–16 weeks (antibody); swab a sore | Blood / swab |
These are the federal Medicare reference prices for processing each lab test. Public clinics and the community health centers serving Tchula often test free or on a sliding scale; private labs and at-home kits bundle several tests into one fee. Use this as a per-test benchmark before you pay out of pocket, or see the full guide to STD test costs for insurance, free, and at-home options.
| Test | Reference price | CPT / HCPCS |
|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia (NAAT) | $47.80 | 87491 |
| Gonorrhea (NAAT) | $47.80 | 87591 |
| Trichomoniasis (NAAT) | $47.76 | 87661 |
| HIV-1/2 antigen/antibody | $26.87 | 87389 |
| HIV-1/2 antibody | $22.44 | 86703 |
| Syphilis (RPR/VDRL) | $5.61 | 86592 |
| Syphilis (treponemal antibody) | $17.49 | 86780 |
| Herpes (HSV NAAT) | $47.76 | 87529 |
| Hepatitis B surface antigen | $15.33 | 87340 |
| Hepatitis C antibody | $29.16 | 86803 |
Source: Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, CMS, 2025 rates (data.cms.gov). Reference rate for the lab assay only: a clinic visit, sample collection, or a bundled multi-test panel may cost more. Medicaid and most insurers cover STD screening at no out-of-pocket cost.
Two things that actually depend on Mississippi law: who can consent, and whether partners can be treated without their own visit. Everything else about testing privately is the same nationwide (see below).
In Mississippi, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Mississippi permits Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT): if you test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea, your provider can give you medication (or a prescription) to pass to your partner, no separate exam or appointment needed for them.
Keeping a test private works the same in every state. Whether an STD test shows on insurance (the EOB), how to test anonymously, and self-pay options that leave no insurance trail don’t change by location.
Learn more about confidential STD testing in MississippiSource: Guttmacher Institute, Minors' Access to STI Services; CDC, Legal Status of Expedited Partner Therapy. General information, not legal advice.
Good to Know
Answers to the questions people ask most before getting tested.
There are 3 options within a 30-mile drive.
Usually yes, it can be billed to insurance, or paid out of pocket at a flat rate.
Public health clinics nearby provide free testing.
A full panel typically covers chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, and hepatitis B and C.
Holmes County reported ~1,908 chlamydia cases per 100,000 in 2023, above the Mississippi average.
Yes, PrEP, a daily pill that helps prevent HIV in HIV-negative people, is available in the area.
In Mississippi, people under 18 can consent to confidential STD testing and treatment on their own.
Most results are ready in about 1–2 days.
Yes, site matters; oral/anal exposure needs a throat or rectal swab, which urine testing won't catch.
Reassuring if you tested after the window, just retest if it was early, and screen again with new partners.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.