NEWS

Francis G. Slay
Mayor

City of St. Louis

Department of Health

Pamela Rice Walker, MPA, CPHA

Interim Director of Health

Melba R. Moore, MS, CPHA

Commissioner of Health

For Immediate Release

December 16, 2014

Contact: Harold Bailey

314/657-1568
baileyh@stlouiscity.com

The Annual CDC STI Data for 2013 Has Been Released
For 2013 compared to the City of St. Louis highest year of 2011, chlamydia and gonorrhea are
both down 11%. The city ranking is meaningless. St. Louis and Baltimore are the only cities not
within a county therefore ranking of St. Louis City in comparison to all other regions is
comparing apples to oranges. The SMSA ranks 15th in cases for chlamydia, 13th for gonorrhea
and 33rd for syphilis.
Preliminary data suggest that for 2014 compared to our high year of 2011 chlamydia may be
down as much as 23% and gonorrhea down as much as 33%.
"Approximately 80% of all STI cases in the city are reported by independent providers or
community health centers, said Pamela Walker, Health Director for the City of St. Louis. Also,
approximately 70% of cases in St. Louis County are reported by health care providers other than
the County health department. Providers must be vigilant in diagnosing and treating STI patients
and their partners immediately. We worked to change the law so that providers can treat partners
presumptively. Doing so will make a difference."
STIs do not respect geographical boundaries. Public health departments in the region work
together to track and respond to reported cases and their contacts.
The State Health Department is responsible for responding to reports of syphilis .
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