Current Updates
Jackson County Public Health will no longer be seeing patients in its Reproductive Health and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) also known as Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) clinic as of Wednesday, June 19, 2019. We thank you for allowing us to be a part of your medical care over the years. We will still be providing HIV and hepatitis C testing. As well as all disease surveillance activities and the investigation or reportable diseases and conditions, which includes STIs.
Accessing Free Bicillin from Jackson County Public Health
The Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA) STD Program and Jackson County Public Health (JCPH) are pleased to announce the ability to distribute penicillin G benzathine (Bicillin) to the local medical community for the timely treatment of syphilis. Jackson County saw a 94% increase in syphilis cases since 2017. We hope that this resource will alleviate some of the financial burdens of stocking the medication and ultimately reduce the number of syphilis cases in Jackson County.
The medication will be provided free of charge, and there will be no cost for the distribution. Medical providers will be required to complete and email/fax a Jackson County Syphilis Case Report Form when the medication is administered.
If your clinic or medical office is interested in receiving bicillin, please contact JCPH in one of the following ways:
- Email STImeds@jacksoncounty.org, please include the following information: contact name, direct phone number, name of clinic/office and requested number of doses.
- Fax a Bicillin Request Form to 541-774-7954.
Jackson County Public Health staff will return your call/email/or fax in one business day.
FORMS: Bicillin Request Form
New CDC Treatment Recommendations for Gonorrhea
CDC has just updated its recommendations for the treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea in adults. The new recommendations, briefly summarized below, are available in 2020 Update to CDC's Treatment for Gonococcal Infections, a special policy note published on December 17 in MMWR. These new recommendations supersede the gonorrhea treatment recommendations included in the 2015 STD Treatment Recommendations.
Please review the letter from the Oregon Health Authority STD Program, which includes the CDC MMWR reviewing the evidence behind these recommendations, for more information. This letter is also posted on the OHA STD Prevention website.
Expedited Partner Therapy
Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT) is the clinical practice of treating the sex partners of patients diagnosed with chlamydia or gonorrhea by providing prescriptions or medications to the patient to take to his/her partner without the health care provider first examining the partner. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded that EPT is a useful option to facilitate partner management, particularly for the treatment of male partners of women with chlamydial infection or gonorrhea.
EPT is permissible in Oregon, as Oregon Pharmacists can legally fill expedited partner therapy prescriptions for treatment of partners exposed to sexually transmitted diseases that do not include the name of the person for whom the medication is intended for. For more information visit the Oregon Health Authority About Expedited Partner Therapy website.
EPT is supported by Jackson County Public Health and Oregon Health Authority to prevent reinfection among partner(s) and decrease the infection among a given social network.
STI Screening and Treatment
An asymptomatic infectious period is common to all three bacterial STIs. This means that transmission can be prevented by frequent screening and treatment of at risk groups to shorten the infectious period. This is the rationale behind measures to test and treat partners. Some evidence suggests that screening of people at highest risk as frequently as every three months is an efficient way to prevent additional infections. In Oregon those at highest risk include1:
- men who have sex with men (MSM),
- methamphetamine users, • people with HIV, and
- people who have previously had the same or another bacterial STI.
Sexual History: 1 Physicians and other health care providers should make a habit of taking a sexual history from everyone aged ≥13 years, including whether they are sexually active, frequency of sex, number of partners, and gender of sex partners. It is also recommended to ask about the type of sex they are engaging in, as this could require screening for extra-genital gonococcal and chlamydial infections. For assistance on taking a sexual history review A Guide to Taking a Sexual History from CDC.
Screen and Treat: 1 Screening and treatment recommendations are set forth by the CDC. This information can be found on the CDC website, STD Screening Recommendations and 2015 STD Treatment Guidelines. Also, every adult should be screened for HIV at least once — and more frequently for persons in higher-risk groups (e.g., MSM, injection drug users).
It is important to note that Oregon may have different screening recommendations based on current trends. Review the February 2018 CD Summary for information on Oregon specific screening for STIs.
Please reach out to Jackson County Public Health if you have specific questions regarding screening recommendations in Oregon.
References
- Oregon Health Authority. The Rising Tide of Sexually Transmitted Infections: Oregon, 2017. CD Summary. February 2018;67(1). https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/DISEASESCONDITIONS/COMMUNICABLEDISEASE/CDSUMMARYNEWSLETTER/Documents/2018/ohd6701.pdf. Accessed June 9, 2019.