Opinion

Let’s have the safe sex talk, San Antonio

Let’s have the safe-sex talk, San Antonio.

There is no comfortable way to discuss this — and we apologize if you are eating breakfast at this moment — but our STD rates are through the roof.

The Alamo City far outpaces the nation and the state on gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia and HIV rates. Perhaps we are just better at testing for and reporting sexually transmitted diseases, or maybe we just are terrible at practicing safe sex. Or maybe it’s a little of both. Rita Espinoza, chief of epidemiology for the city of San Antonio’s Metro Health District, couldn’t say one way or the other during an interview.

Whatever the reason, our rates are through the roof, according to the September report from the Metro Health District. The rate of gonorrhea here was nearly double the rate for the U.S. in 2015 and way more than Texas as a whole. It’s a similar story for chlamydia. And while the number of primary and secondary syphilis cases in Bexar County have trended downward in recent years, we are still double the rates in Texas and the U.S.

These diseases spread anywhere and between all people, but maps from the city’s Metro Health District show the highest rates of transmittal on the East and South sides, generally. Metro Health’s deployment of a mobile clinic is an excellent model for outreach. It’s cutting edge, creative and dynamic. But clearly more is needed.

The best way to avoid an STD is to stay abstinent or practice safe sex. This might be an awkward conversation, San Antonio, but the alternative is far more uncomfortable.