Demand for STD testing up in Kane County

The demand for sexually transmitted disease testing in Kane County has risen so far beyond expectations to start the year that the county will have to plunk down an additional $55,000 to keep up.

Kane County Health Department Executive Director Paul Kuehnert said the increase is a good thing because it helps address the long-term impact of the spread of diseases such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV/AIDS.

But the increased demand and associated cost increase means the county will likely take a look at the way it performs such testing.

"Not everybody really needs to be screened medically," Kuehnert said. "There are a lot of things you can do with STD before you actually do the medical exam."

In the interim, both the Greater Elgin Family Care Center and the Open Door Clinic in Elgin and Aurora need more money to address the demand.

The Kane County Board's Public Health Committee was scheduled to vote on the funding Tuesday, but failed to get enough members to show up to legally host the meeting. They'll try again Friday.

The number of clients seeking STD tests at the Greater Elgin Family Care Center is virtually identical to last year, but the Open Door Clinics have already seen nearly three times the demand for testing.

The increase is not necessarily an indicator of a dramatic rise in the number of STD cases, Kuehnert said. However, the numbers through January and February for certain diseases are up slightly from the same time last year.

There were 279 reported cases of chlamydia in January and February this year, nearly 60 more than the same time last year. There have been 50 reported cases of Gonorrhea, up by nine from a year ago. All reported STDS are basically flat compared to 2008.