Budget cuts hurting STD control

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- State and local government budget cuts are impacting health departments in controlling the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, U.S. researchers said.

The study by the National Coalition of STD Directors is based on a recent survey of health department budget cuts in states, large U.S. cities and U.S. territories and the impact on public health departments.

Lead author Dr. William Wong, STD program director for the Chicago Department of Public Health, said budget cuts, coupled with the long-term effects of flat or declining federal resources, have severely hampered the ability of STD programs to keep pace with the increasing demand for STD testing and treatment services and the rising rates of STDs.

Sixty-nine percent of the STD programs surveyed experienced funding cuts from 2008-2009. Between 2008-2009, 39 clinics supported by state and local STD programs closed their doors due to inadequate funding.

The number of disease intervention specialists, the frontline public health workers comprising nearly half of the STD program workforce in health departments, declined nationwide by 20 percent over the last decade, Wong said.

The NCSD study comes on the heels of a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing persistent high rates of STDs. In 2008, more than 1.2 million chlamydia cases were reported in the United States and syphilis increased 18 percent from 2007-2008, Wong said.

The study is at www.ncsddc.org/stdprogramcapacity2009.xml.