Georgia: Syphilis Most Common Diagnosis at New Men's STD Clinic

In its first eight days of operation, AID Atlanta's STD clinic diagnosed 45 new STD cases, said Mark Hebert, a nurse practitioner at the clinic. The Men's STD Clinic, open since October, sees patients on the first and third Saturdays of the month, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Syphilis was the clinic's most common diagnosis, said Hebert. By the first week of January, the clinic screened 251 individual patients, among whom 21 tested positive for syphilis. The clinic diagnosed 11 new chlamydia cases, six new gonorrhea infections, and five new HIV infections. Besides STD screening, the clinic offers vaccinations for hepatitis A and B.

"We try to encourage people to get screened for everything here, particularly because it's free and relatively non-invasive," said Hebert. The clinic issues prescriptions for patients' STD treatment. AID Atlanta provides free and reduced-cost medicine and care to HIV-positive patients who are poor or meet other criteria. The clinic does not turn away female clients.

The clinic is largely funded by a $150,000 federal STD prevention grant administered through the Georgia Department of Human Resources.

In 2005, Georgia had the highest rate of diagnoses for primary and secondary syphilis infections, at 7.3 cases per 100,000 people (645 cases), according to CDC. Fulton and DeKalb counties reported most cases for Georgia, with 293 and 177 syphilis cases, accounting for 45 percent and 27 percent of Georgia's total, respectively.

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