Dr. Adi Pour, Director of the Douglas County Health Department, says they’ve known since 2004 that the rate of STD infections in Douglas County is at an epidemic level.
She says the health department wants to take every opportunity to keep young people healthy. Dr. Pour says one of the ways to do so is to increase screening rates.
She says often these types of infections are asymptomatic, so people may not know they are infected.
"We know that the consequences in females could be infertility and we want to prevent this. Not only is there a huge health care cost related to that, but it is also a personal issue that can really be devastating to those young individuals.”
Dr. Pour says the health department also advocates that people take care of their health and make responsible choices.
"That is really a major part of this campaign too is the awareness. What are the diseases? How can you contract them? And really enforcing how important it is to make those right decisions.”
April is Get Yourself Tested Month and the Douglas County Health Department is offering free STD screenings. Individuals may be screened from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Swanson Library on Thursday.
Details are available online at douglascountyhealth.com.