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Austin Public Health busier than ever as STDs continue to rise

Disease intervention specialists have seven days to seek out the infected for treatment before the infection spreads.

AUSTIN, Texas — Several times a day, disease intervention specialists at the Austin Public Health Department have uncomfortable conversations.

"Hello, my name is Monique Flukers and I'm calling with Austin Public Health," said Flukers as she made a call.

As soon as someone in Austin tests positive for an STD or HIV in Austin, Monique Flukers and her staff get to work. They reach out and try to get those infected to get tested again and, more importantly, to get treatment.

If they don't want to, that's when Flukers, a supervisor, gets involved. 

"Can you let me know the reason why you won't come and test with us," Flukers asked.

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They also make in-person visits. Anything to get the infected and their friends help.

"Oh, we're extremely, extremely busy," Flukers said.

That's because they have seven days to find the infected person and their friends. That's how long they have before the infection spreads.

"We try to get them first, then we try to get the partners of their partners, or the friends of those friends, because what we've learned is that all of those people are intertwined or intermixed together," Flukers said.

Every day, the Austin Public Health lab tests communicable diseases as STDs continue climbing in Austin.

Dr. Phillip Huang, the City's Health Authority and Medical Director, compares numbers from 2010 to 2016. Data from 2016 are the most recent stats. 

In every category, they are up:

  • Chlamydia jumped 43 percent
  • Gonorrhea increased 88 percent
  • Syphilis is up 12 percent

"They are very concerning," said Dr. Huang.

Dr. Huang said there are several reasons behind the rise. Population increase and better reporting are a couple. He also explained a few others.

"Concerned that there's less condom usage ... We're concerned about some of the dating apps, and things like that make anonymous sex easier to happen," said Dr. Huang.

Disease intervention specialists don't have it easy.

"It is a difficult job," said Dr. Huang.

They resort to reasoning to get the infected treated. Throwing facts at them like, if STD's go untreated, they can lead to infertility. Or, for infected pregnant women, they can pass the disease down to their babies.

The Austin Public Health Department runs a sexual health clinic. It is packed by 10 a.m. every day. The clinic sees 10,000 to 13,000 every year.  

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