STIs on the rise

COEUR d’ALENE — Sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea and syphilis are on the rise in Kootenai County and elsewhere in Idaho, according to health officials.

Panhandle Health District spokesperson Katherine Hoyer said the county has experienced a serious uptick in gonorrhea in recent years. According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, in 2016 Kootenai County had 44 reported cases of gonorrhea compared to 43 in 2015, 32 in 2014, 25 in 2013, and only eight cases in 2002, the earliest year for county-specific data online. Most cases involve people who came to the county following meth trails from elsewhere, Hoyer said.

“Now that the gonorrhea is here in our county, it’s harder to get rid of. It’s spreading,” she noted.

The Centers for Disease Control said the disease can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic pain in the pelvic area, and lead to damage that makes a woman unable to get pregnant.

Hoyer said syphilis is also on the rise and a concern. According to Health and Welfare, Kootenai County rose from zero reported cases of syphilis in 2002, to two in 2013, to three in each 2014 and 2015, to 16 reported cases in 2016 alone. Syphilis in Idaho shot up from a rate of 20 per 100,000 people in 2014 to more than 50 per 100,000 in 2016. With few exceptions, Idaho had been below the U.S. rate from 1987 until the recent spike.

Rates of syphilis are on the rise among women, and that can pose a risk to their unborn babies. A CDC study found a 366 percent increase in congenital syphilis among babies in the western U.S. from 2012-2016, said Dr. Richard McLandress, who is director of the Family Medicine Coeur d’Alene Residency Program at Kootenai Health, and a member of PHD’s Board of Health with 40 years of medical practice.

“Since syphilis can be transmitted from an infected mother to a baby during pregnancy or at delivery, it’s important women who are pregnant seek prenatal care early. Treatment early during pregnancy can cure syphilis in the mother and baby during pregnancy,” said health and welfare spokesperson Niki Forbing-Orr.

Kootenai County has lower rates of chlamydia than the state or nation, said Hoyer. According to Health and Welfare, in 2016 Kootenai County had 496 reported cases of chlamydia compared to 487 in 2015, 587 in 2014, 580 in 2013, and 210 back in 2002. Hoyer said most people who do have the disease don’t know they have it until some other problem, such as PID, forces them to get tested. According to the CDC, chlamydia can cause serious, permanent damage to the female reproductive system, making it difficult to become pregnant and increasing the risk of ectopic pregnancy.

McLandress said several key factors have led to the rise of STIs locally. Citing a study by nonprofit public health advocacy group Trust for America’s Health, McLandress said dating apps Grindr and Tinder have enabled more frequent, anonymous sexual activity and a corresponding rise in STIs. He also attributed the rise of local STI rates to increased rates of unprotected gay sex, and to an influx of migrants from areas with more permissive sexual cultures. Forbing-Orr said fighting syphilis, as well as HIV, is especially important for LGBTQ residents.

“Nationally and in Idaho, the largest number of syphilis and HIV infections are among gay and bisexual men,” she said.

Shortages of funds for public health clinics also means infected patients have more time to spread STIs to more sexual partners, McLandress said.

Teenagers who have oral sex is a big problem, McLandress added, because teens are not being taught that they can transmit STIs through that kind of sexual activity. At the Coeur d’Alene School District, middle school and high school health classes use the Seattle-based “FLASH” curriculum to teach students how to prevent STIs through abstinence as well as contraceptive methods. Health and Welfare programs use a curriculum called “Reducing the Risk” which similarly promotes both abstinence and proper use of contraceptives to prevent STIs. The CDC noted the only foolproof way to not contract STIs is to abstain from sex, or to have sex only with an uninfected person who has no other sexual partners.

“Unprotected sex and multiple sexual partners are the main causes of sexually transmitted diseases,” Hoyer said.

Through confidential STI testing, exams, treatment, and referral services, the Panhandle Health District works to combat local rates of infection, Hoyer said. No insurance is necessary, and costs are based on a sliding fee scale. “It may not cost you much of anything to get tested,” she explained.

Doctors ensure patient confidentiality, McLandress said, but as epidemiologists concerned with preventing the spread of STIs they encourage patients to contact their sexual partners so they can also get tested and treated. Doctors always talk to their patients about the behavior that led to the STIs, and explain how to prevent it from recurring, he said. Appointments are available at all of PHD’s locations across North Idaho, including 8500 N. Atlas Road in Hayden. For more information, call 208-415-5270 or go to panhandlehealthdistrict.org.