In a lively city like Fort Worth, it’s important for anyone at risk for sexually transmitted diseases to get tested. What does it mean to be at risk? Sexually active people who have never been tested before should look into their options, as well as those who are embarking on new relationships and are searching for a clean bill of health before the situation progresses. According to the CDC, testing for certain population groups is crucial, like sexually active women under the age of 25 who have been with multiple partners in the last year, gay men, bisexual men or men who have sex with men and pregnant women. These groups are at high-risk to contract sexually transmitted disease and a clean bill of health is just an STD test away.

Getting testing can feel intimidating, embarrassing or even shameful, but it doesn’t need to be. For any questions you have, a dedicated team of Care Advisors is available 7 days a week from 6 AM to 10 PM CT to answer any questions you might have and to guide you in the process. Getting tested is an important step for Fort Worth and Tarrant County to take control of their sexual health and help to lower the STD rate.

STD Test Statistics in Fort Worth, Texas

The sexually transmitted disease in Fort Worth that saw the most marked rise from 2013 to 2014, according to the most recent reports published by the Texas Department of State Health Services, was gonorrhea, with 2,617 infections reported in 2014 compared to 2,237 the year prior. From 2010 to 2014, the highest rate of infections was reported in 2010, with 142.8 new infections per 100,000 residents. Fort Worth and Tarrant County is 4th in the state for the highest number of infections of gonorrhea, preceded by Bexar, Dallas and Harris counties. In Fort Worth, new chlamydia infections are currently on the decline compared to year-over-year reporting. It is still, however, the most reported STI in the Fort Worth and Tarrant County area, with 8,433 total infections recorded by the county health department in 2014. Primary and secondary syphilis cases are also on the decline, with 151 in 2014 compared to 160 in 2013.²

HIV in Fort Worth and Tarrant County saw declining numbers between 2013 and 2014 as well with 257 and 230 new diagnoses, respectively. The county is 5th in the state for number of HIV diagnoses, and 3rd in the state for AIDS diagnoses, proceeded by Dallas and Harris County, with Harris County and the greater Houston area reporting the highest number of AIDS cases in the state of Texas. While the Tarrant County area reports some of the highest numbers in the state, the rate of infection ranks much lower. It ranked 17th in the state for the rate of AIDS infection, and didn’t rank in the top 25 Texas counties for the rate of HIV infection.⁴ A continued effort to get tested and linked to care is an important method of lowering both the numbers and rates of commonly reported sexually transmitted disease in Fort Worth and Tarrant County.

STD Testing and Sexual Education in Fort Worth

Traditionally, Texas does not mandate sexual education in public schools, according to the Guttmacher Institute Report detailing state-by-state sex ed policies across the country. Fort Worth, along with Houston and 19 additional metropolitan areas across the United States, is the recipient of grant funding from CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). This federal agency funding sets forth expectations of local area schools developing exceptional sexual education programming, with an emphasis on STD, HIV and teen pregnancy prevention. Another caveat of the grant is administering the Youth Behavior Risk Survey amongst the student population, in an effort to assess the issues facing youth and adolescents and how the curriculum can be improved to encompass these issues. The funding also extends to improving the community services available and outreach to youth in the Fort Worth and greater Tarrant County area.⁷

According to documents distributed to parents by the Fort Worth Independent School District, certain high school sexual education programs are taught in accordance with Texas standards. This curriculum offers a discussion on many abstinence-based topics, as well as a discussion of effective methods for prevention of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.⁸ Between the CDC funding and living in an area with traditional values and less-than-comprehensive state standards when it comes to sexual education, it seems that young people in Fort Worth are at a crossroads. It’s up to parents, mentors and other influential members in the lives of students to educate their adolescents about how to avoid risky behaviors and what to do in the event they are exposed to a sexually transmitted disease.

STD Testing and Demographics in Fort Worth

In Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the rate of female chlamydia infections far surpasses that of male infections, according to reports from the Tarrant County Public Health Division of Epidemiology and Health Information. In 2012, the reported rate of chlamydia in the county’s female population was 673.5 infections per 100,000 residents compared to the male rate of 217.5/100,000. The gonorrhea rate of infection between genders is more comparable, with 121.3 new infections per 100,000 residents in the female population compared to 105.4/100,000 reported in the male population of Fort Worth and the greater Tarrant County area. Regarding primary and secondary syphilis, males reported an infection rate of 24.4/100,000 compared to 6.7/100,000 by females per the 2012 data.⁹

African Americans are one demographic group in the Fort Worth statistical reporting area that is impacted by the spread of sexually transmitted disease. Analyzing data reported about chlamydia, gonorrhea and primary and secondary syphilis, this racial demographic group had the highest rate of infection across the board, with rates of 1,103.7/100,000, 465.5/100,000 and 52.1/100,000, respectively. The Hispanic population accounted for the subsequent highest rate of infections in Fort Worth, with a chlamydia rate of 331.7/100,000, a gonorrhea rate of 56.8/100,000 and primary and secondary syphilis rate of 11.3/100,000.⁹ Getting tested and treated for these sexually transmitted diseases helps to improve the overall health of all communities in the Fort Worth and Tarrant County area.

Your Best Fort Worth STD Testing Option

Spend less time feeling stressed about the status of your sexual health and more time enjoying the “Cowboys and Culture” found in Fort Worth. STDtest.com offers a service that is fast, convenient, affordable and discreet, plus, getting started is simple. Either online or by phone, answer a brief medical questionnaire to receive your doctor-recommended panel of tests, customized to your sexual history and symptoms. Next, you’ll choose a testing option. You can select a lab location from a national network of thousands most convenient for you for test sample collection, no appointment needed. If available in your area, get tested at home, work or another convenient testing option with In-Home Collection.

For both options, once your test samples are collected, results are usually available in three business days or less. The medical team is available for a follow up consult discussing your diagnosis, to answer any questions you have and even to prescribe treatment, if medically appropriate and if allowed by state law. Get tested. It’s for your better health.

References:

1 US Census Bureau Quick Facts – Fort Worth and Tarrant County, TX
2 Texas STD Surveillance Report 2014
3 Reported STDs in the United States 2014 National Data for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis
4 Texas HIV Surveillance Report 2014
5 CDC Local Funded Agency – Fort Worth, TX
6 Guttmacher Institute State Policies in Brief Sex and HIV Education
7 CDC Local Funded Agencies – Fort Worth, Texas
8 Fort Worth Independent School District – Notice of Intent to Provide Human Sexuality Instruction
9 Communicable Diseases Tarrant County, 2012