Private MD News

STD awareness month seeks to dispel disease myths

Category: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

In recognition of April's designation as sexually transmitted disease awareness month, many groups are urging individuals to seek STD testing. With the end of the month drawing near, individuals are running out of time to get screened as part of the national observance of the awareness month.

One of the main goals of the awareness month is break down some of the misinformation that prevents young people from seeking an STD test. Lisa Jackson, the district communicable disease director in Rockdale County, Georgia, told the Rockdale Citizen that many more people who are risk for STDs would seek testing if they had more accurate information.

"The lack of correct information, misconceptions about transmission and social stigma associated with STDs keep many young people from getting tested," she told the news source. "Our top priority is to connect with young people wherever they are and provide them with the facts."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are four times as likely to be infected with an STD than the rest of the population.