Nebraska: Fighting Myths on STDs

A new website, www.STDomaha.com, seeks to debunk the myths and misconceptions that are helping spread STDs in Douglas County.

In 2010, the county confirmed more than 2,800 cases of chlamydia and 815 gonorrhea diagnoses. One-third of the chlamydia cases and nearly one-quarter of the gonorrhea cases were detected among persons ages 15 to 19. Through July 2011, the county has logged more than 1,700 cases of chlamydia and almost 470 gonorrhea cases.

A true count of all cases would likely produce numbers three times as high as the official tally, said Valda Ford, a nurse with the county's STD initiative. This is because many people with the diseases do not know they are infected, and because they may be treated for symptoms without learning the cause is an STD.

To help drive home the message that STDs pose a real threat, the Douglas County Health Department and the Center for Human Diversity (CHD) produced a video entitled "STD! Not Me!" In it, Devonta Harris, now a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, talks to a group of teens about the diseases.

"This is a small city," Harris tells the youths. "You see the same people almost every day. And if STDs are spreading around like that, it's like a text message, a 'forward' that everybody got. 'Cause one person had it -- one person sent that out."

Ford, who is also CHD's founder and CEO, said that even though "people think talking about sex is nasty," it is imperative for parents to have the discussion with their kids.

To view the video, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=W09Gv-UFl6A.

Back to other news for September 2011