STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) Reports
February 2007

Monthly STD Report − February 2007
St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment
Kristy Baumgart, MPH

For the month of February, St. Charles County had 29 laboratory confirmed STD cases (as of 3/26/07), which is lower than both 2006 (n =40) 2005 February totals (n = 60). Using the 2006 rough population estimate as the total population (n= 340,000) of St. Charles County, the incidence rate for STDs during February 2007 is 8.5 cases/100,000 people. For comparison, the incidence rate (using the 2005 population estimate of 329,940) for 2006 was 12.1 cases per 100,000 and for 2005 was 18.1 cases per 100,000. The graph below shows the number of diagnoses for each STD during the month of February in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.

STD Counts for the Month of February
St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment, 2004-2007

This graph clearly shows that the number of STD cases in this past February were much lower than previous years. The result is surprising; given the rapid population growth of this county. Education efforts by SCCDCHE have increased over the past year and have targeted specific college and high school aged populations. Additional outside factors may be affecting when patients are being tested/screened. We will continue to investigate this matter as the year progresses.

The chart below compares monthly STD case totals from 2004-2007. February 2007 was unusually low for St. Charles County. This graph is intended to show the seasonality of STDs in St. Charles County.



The following chart shows the February 2007 rate of STD cases per zip code per 100,000 people, using the 2000 population estimates for each zip code. The rates most likely are inflated due to the current 2007 population estimate for each each zip code. For instance, the 63385 zip code has the highest rate (31.7 per 100,000 people); however, this zip code has experienced rapid growth since the 2000 census.

Zip Code	Number of STD Cases	Population	Rate/100,000
63301	7	46059	15.1
63303	1	41575	2.4
63304	2	38586	5.2
63341	0	3154	0.0
63366	1	57519	1.7
63367	0	8350	0.0
63376	6	68970	8.7
63385	5	13931	35.9
unknown	7	unknown	unknown

The chart below is intended to see if the month of diagnosis has a relationship with the zip code of residence. Because St. Charles County has a significant college-aged population within a particular zip code, the relationship may prove helpful as the year progresses.





As noted by the chart below, females clearly outnumber the number of males with lab-confirmed STDs. This gross difference may be due to the fact that females tend to seek treatment and/or get tested for STDs more frequently than males. Tailoring prevention messages to males may be an important tool for future educational programs.



The highest numbers of STD cases have occurred within the young adult population. Steps to improve STD interventions and/or education may need to be addressed. The month of February was very similar to previous years, where the large majority of cases occurred within the 15-24 year olds.