Parkland hosting free syphilis, HIV testing event in Dallas this Saturday
DALLAS - Parkland Hospital and Dallas County Health and Human Services are teaming up to provide free syphilis and HIV testing, immunizations, medical screenings and more this weekend.
The services will be available at the Owenwood Farm and Neighbor Space Spring Festival on Saturday, April 13, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
April is STI Awareness Month and reported cases of syphilis and gonorrhea have increased every year in Dallas County since 2015, according to data from the 2022 Dallas County Community Health Needs Assessment.
It isn't just Dallas County. Across the country, syphilis rates have reached levels that haven't been seen since the 1950s, according to Parkland.
Parkland says the preventable infection can cause big problems for pregnant women and their unborn babies.
"Syphilis poses significant risks to both maternal and fetal health. It is critical that pregnant women receive timely screenings and treatment to prevent transmission to their babies," said Emily Adhikari, MD, the Director of Perinatal Infectious Diseases for Parkland Health in a statement.
Medical assistant Barbara Dupree of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Wellness Center closes bottles of patients urine submitted for testing in Hollywood, California on May 18, 2018. - A billboard on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood screams out a sta
STIs can also increase your chances of acquiring HIV, according to doctors.
"Anyone who is sexually active should know their options to prevent STIs and HIV, including testing, condoms and PrEP, the medication that prevents HIV," Helen King, MD, Infectious Diseases Service Chief at Parkland Health and Associate Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center said in a statement.
Parkland says that early detection allows for treatment and the prevention of transmission.