Gonorrhea rates in Yalobusha County are about 35% higher than the US average. If you're in Water Valley, Mississippi, and need testing before starting a new relationship or as part of ongoing care, consider your options: public clinics keep costs down, private labs prioritize speed, and at-home kits trade a clinic visit for convenience. See our list below.
Available testing centers
8 testing options are listed for Water Valley, MS. The nearest, Family Health Care Clinic, is about 0.8 miles away. Compare 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.
Family Health Care Clinic in Water Valley runs by appointment and covers HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, hepatitis A, B, and C, and TB on a sliding-scale fee open to all. With same-visit treatment for bacterial infections and Spanish-language care available.
For someone navigating PrEP, a new hepatitis diagnosis, or ongoing HIV treatment without fluent English, the clinical conversation itself is the care, and Family Health Care Clinic in Water Valley handles it directly in Spanish or through interpretation services, so nothing gets lost between the question and the answer.
PrEP at Family Health Care Clinic means a provider assesses eligibility, writes the prescription, and schedules the repeat HIV and kidney-function testing that keeping the medication safe requires. The full clinical loop, not just a one-time script.
Without on-site hepatitis C treatment, a diagnosis often stalls into months of specialist scheduling and insurance navigation. Gaps where the virus continues its damage. Family Health Care Clinic in Water Valley closes that gap by treating hepatitis C directly, moving from confirmed diagnosis to active management without sending patients elsewhere.
Languages
English, Interpretation Services Available for Non-English Languages, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified May 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
A public safety-net rural health clinic about 2 miles from Water Valley. Sliding-scale STD testing and care are typical here, call ahead to confirm the exact panel and pricing.
Tests offered
Sliding-scale fees and Medicaid and private insurance are all accepted at Mississippi State Department of Health in Water Valley, keeping the cost of gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and conventional HIV testing adjustable to income. Same-visit treatment covers bacterial STIs, and appointments are required.
Languages
English, Spanish
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified May 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN
ARcare in Oxford tests for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis C, gonorrhea, and chlamydia on a sliding-scale fee open to everyone, with appointments required and same-visit treatment available for bacterial infections like gonorrhea and chlamydia.
ARcare carries live interpretation services into the exam room itself: meaning someone navigating care without English as a primary language doesn't lose nuance at the moments that matter: discussing symptoms, understanding a treatment plan, or asking follow-up questions. That standing capability makes ARcare the practical answer for Oxford's non-English-speaking residents who need more than a translated intake form.
ARcare prescribes both PrEP and PEP in-house, which means the clinical work (baseline HIV and kidney-function testing, prescription issuance, and the follow-up labs required to stay on PrEP safely) happens within the same practice. PrEP coverage extends to uninsured patients through a dedicated program, keeping the medication itself from becoming the barrier.
For anyone without a specialist or a referral network, whether paying on the sliding scale or relying on Medicaid, ARcare's ability to treat hepatitis C directly, not merely confirm it, is the difference between a diagnosis with a path forward and one without. Antivirals are managed in-house, so the plan doesn't stall after the antibody result comes back.
Languages
English, Interpretation Services Available for Non-English Languages
Tests offered
Serves
Care services
Prevention services
Fees & payment
Listing verified Dec 2025 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
A community safety-net federally qualified health center about 15 miles from Water Valley. 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 less than a mile away; if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Water Valley, 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 for simplicity & support
$89 & 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 Yalobusha 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.
630 South Main Street, Water Valley, MS 38965
CMS-certified lab
604 South Main Street, Water Valley, MS 38965
CMS-certified lab
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Water Valley. 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, 100 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Water Valley. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 11 offer telehealth.
Kimberly Webb, MD
Family medicine · 1200 Central Street, Water Valley
Joseph Kordsmeier, DO
Internal medicine · 630 South Main Street, Water Valley
Robert Carter, MD
Family medicine · 1201 Office Park Drive, Oxford
Kellie Mitchell, MD
Internal medicine · 131 Garden Terrace Drive, Oxford
Samuel Cole, MD
OB-GYN · 2610 South Lamar Boulevard, Oxford
Brett Lampton, MD
Internal medicine · 1100 Belk Boulevard, Oxford
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 Water Valley, 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.
Valley Drugs
0.7 miTurnage Drug Store
0.7 miTotal Care Pharmacy of Water Valley
0.9 miThe Drug Store
13 miArcare
14 miVital Care of Oxford
14 miShowing the 6 closest pharmacies to Water Valley, 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 Water Valley, 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.
Visit from $0 insured
Telehealth STI treatment and sexual-health care, delivered or to your pharmacy
$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
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 Yalobusha County, the county that includes Water Valley, compare with Mississippi and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~33% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#40 of 82 Mississippi counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 51% of the state
| Infection | Yalobusha County | Mississippi | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chlamydia | 670.1 83 cases ▼ 4% | 700.9 | 492.2 |
| Gonorrhea | 242.2 30 cases ▼ 4% | 251.1 | 179.5 |
| Syphilis (P&S) | 72.7 9 cases ▲ 142% | 30.1 | 15.8 |
| Syphilis (early) | 24.2 3 cases ▲ 48% | 16.3 | 16 |
| Syphilis (late/unknown) | 40.4 5 cases ▼ 38% | 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 Yalobusha County, chlamydia has fallen from 985.5 to 670.1 per 100,000 (32%), gonorrhea has fallen from 512.8 to 242.2 per 100,000 (53%), and P&S syphilis has risen from 24 to 72.7 per 100,000 (203%).
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 Yalobusha 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.
Yalobusha County HIV care continuum (2023)
Among Yalobusha County residents living with HIV, 81.8% are in care · 72.7% 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 Yalobusha County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Local resources & officials
Data & references
Local context
Along MS 315, Frostland Drive cutting through a town where homes trade hands well below six figures and monthly rents stay modest, Water Valley carries the kind of cost-of-living profile that sounds reassuring until you tally what unemployment near the top of the state average does to a household budget. With only about half of working-age residents in the labor force and roughly four in ten households renting rather than owning, discretionary spending gets stretched thin across average households of three people. A clinic visit, even an affordable one, competes with other line items.
That financial pressure lands hardest on younger adults still forming relationships, the crowd in their late teens and twenties who statistically face the steepest STI risk and are also the most likely to be navigating unstable work schedules or a single income. The options listed on this page may require a real drive, which makes knowing your choices in advance, not the day you need them, genuinely worth the few minutes it takes. A household where $516 covers rent doesn't have room for a preventable complication that a free or low-cost test would have caught months earlier.
Getting there
At 5.03/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Water Valley 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 38965 snapshot
ZIP-level Census figures for the wider 38965 area around Water Valley: a single ZIP can span several communities, so they describe the area, not Water Valley alone.
Water Valley sits in Yalobusha County, ZIP 38965. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Major routes
Nearby cities & towns
Just outside Water Valley? 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 Yalobusha 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 Water Valley-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 Water Valley 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.
Yes, several local labs offer same-day walk-in testing; best to call first.
Free at public clinics. Private labs run about $24 for one test and $139 for a full panel; at-home kits are $49+.
Public health clinics nearby provide free testing.
A full panel typically covers chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, and hepatitis B and C.
Yalobusha County reported ~670 chlamydia cases per 100,000 in 2023, below 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.
A kit ships to your address; you collect a urine, swab, or finger-stick sample, mail it to the lab, and get results online in a few days.
Untreated chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and fertility problems, caught early, it's cured with antibiotics.
Herpes isn't in standard panels unless you have symptoms, a sore can be swabbed, or a blood test discussed with a provider.
Have a different question? Browse the full STD & STI FAQ library, every question we answer, in one place.