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STI Prevention

The mission of the STI Prevention Program is to intervene in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) and reduce the complications of these diseases. The program provides technical and financial assistance to local STI programs for surveillance, case detection through screening, ensuring treatment of known cases, case follow-up, and education. Efforts are coordinated among health care providers to screen for syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. Other important aspects of this program include education and prevention counseling for persons impacted by STIs.

The STI Prevention Program seeks to engage community groups, partner agencies, and other stakeholders to decrease the disparity of STIs among vulnerable communities and populations. This includes improving health inequalities that exist among people with STIs, including categorial inequalities defined by the WHO as “demographically, economically, geographically, and socially disadvantaged.”


Fast Facts
  • Many STIs are asymptomatic, meaning you can't tell you if have one without being tested. It's important to get tested regularly if you're sexually active.
  • Latex condoms used the right way every time will greatly reduce your risk of getting an STI.
  • If diagnosed with an STI, it's important to take all medication exactly as prescribed. You and any partners should wait 7 days after treatment before having sex again to avoid reinfection.
  • Some STIs, like chlamydia and gonorrhea, can cause irreversible damage to the reproductive system if not treated.

Looking for a clinic near you? Check out our STI Clinics Map of agencies that partner with the IDOH STI Chlamydia/Gonorrhea (CT/GC) Prevention Program. Enter your zip code to find a testing facility close to you. A list of those CT/GC clinics can be found here. Additional agencies that do not participate in the CT/GC Prevention Program but provide STI services can be found here.

Your role in interrupting the chain of transmission for sexually transmitted diseases is vital to the health of Hoosiers. Many communities rely on urgent care or emergency room care for screening and treatment of STIs, and the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) STI Prevention Program would like to provide your agency with the tools and materials to ensure exceptional sexual healthcare to Hoosiers in accordance with CDC’s recommendations. Your efforts in STI prevention and attention to detail are assisting clients with getting access to critical care in order to lower the disease burden among Indiana communities. Below are links to five resources for healthcare providers when managing the sexual healthcare of your patient:

Expedited Partner Therapy for Health Care Professionals in Indiana

Expedited Partner Therapy, or EPT, is the practice of treating sexual partners of patients diagnosed with an STI (specifically chlamydia and/or gonorrhea) without an intervening medical evaluation. This practice helps prevent re-infection of patients and is considered an effective partner management strategy. Prescribing treatment to partners is a protected activity under the Indiana Administrative Code. See the resources below for more information.

National and Statewide Increase in Syphilis Cases

Once on a trajectory for elimination in the United States, the rate of syphilis infection has been increasing every year since 2001. National rates of primary and secondary (P&S) stages of syphilis-- the most infectious stages-- have increased almost every year, increasing 28.6% during 2020–2021. Rates increased among both males and females, in all regions of the United States, and in all age groups. Rates of P&S syphilis increased in all racial/Hispanic ethnicity groups, with greatest increases among non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native persons who also had the highest P&S syphilis rate in 2021.1 Indiana is at a record-high rate of P&S syphilis cases with 10.8 cases per 100,000 in 2021. Congenital syphilis cases have also increased at the state and national levels, which is a major public health concern. Indiana reported 20 cases of congenital syphilis (rate of 25.0 cases per 100,000 live births). The 2021 national congenital syphilis rate was 77.9 cases per 100,000 live birth, which was an 30.5% increase relative to 2020.1

Please use the documents at the links provided below for guidance on managing syphilis diagnosed in your patients.

1. National Overview of STIs, 2021 - https://www.cdc.gov/std/statistics/2021/overview.htm

treat

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides guidelines for recommended courses of treatment for STIs. On July 23, 2021, the CDC released the newest treatment guidelines (2021). The links below include the most recently updated guidelines in a wall chart and a pocket guide, including the changes to the treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in December 2020. The second link provides more details about the changes to the gonorrhea treatment guidelines.

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Use the fact sheets provided here to learn more about STDs, how they are spread, and who is at risk. All resources are shown in English and Spanish. Resources in other languages are available on the CDC's website.

Disease English Version Spanish Version
Chlamydia English PDFSpanish PDF
Gonorrhea English PDFSpanish PDF
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) English PDFSpanish PDF
Syphilis English PDFSpanish PDF
Congenital Syphilis English PDFSpanish PDF
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) English PDFSpanish PDF
Hepatitis B English PDFSpanish PDF
Hepatitis C English PDFSpanish PDF
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) English PDFSpanish PDF
STD Risk and Oral Sex English linkSpanish link
Genital Herpes English PDFSpanish PDF
Trichomoniasis English PDFSpanish PDF
Bacterial Vaginosis English PDFSpanish PDF
STDs and HIV English PDFSpanish PDF
Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) English PDFSpanish PDF
Shigellosis in MSMEnglish PDFSpanish PDF

Programming