From: MPetrelis@aol.com
Date: Sun, 27 Jun 1999 18:22:46 EDT
Subject: NYC lacks monthly public STD reports


For Immediate Release                                             
June 28, 1999                                                                 
   
Contact: Michael Petrelis
Phone, 415-621-6267

              AIDS ACTIVISTS DEMAND MONTHLY S.T.D. REPORTS;

          N.Y.C. HEALTH DEPT. LACKS PUBLIC S.T.D. EPIDEMIOLOGY

San Francisco, CA -- Members of the national AIDS Accountability Project web 
site today called for the New York City Department of Health (DOH) to 
immediately begin publishing a monthly sexually transmitted disease (STD) 
surveillance report for the public.

While the DOH currently disseminates a comprehensive quarterly AIDS 
surveillance report, it appears to be an exception to New York's rule of 
keeping health activists ignorant regarding trends in STD rates.  The DOH 
AIDS report documents a significant decrease of full-blown AIDS cases.  The 
declines occurred across the five boroughs, and all races and age categories 
- mirroring AIDS epidemiology in other parts of the country.

However, DOH fails to collect and distribute an STD monthly report, which 
troubles 
national AIDS activists researching local male rectal gonorrhea rates in 
cities with large gay populations.  "It is impossible to measure safe sex 
practices among gays if local health departments refuse to maintain STD 
figures, then routinely share the data with gays," said Michael Petrelis, a 
spokesperson for the www.accountabilityproject.com site.  "If major 
metropolitan areas adversely 
affected by AIDS, including San Francisco, Los Angeles County and Washington, 
DC, can regularly gather STD data for the public, why can't New York City?"

The AIDS Accountability Project calls on Jeff Escoffier, the gay coordinator 
for New 
York's DOH to mount a campaign to convince both Isaac Weisfuse, MD, and Neal 
L. Cohen, MD, head of STD Control and the Commissioner of Health 
respectively, to immediately compile a month by month breakdown of STD rates 
for 1998 and for the first four months of 1999.  DOH must then continue 
issuing STD reports monthly.

The June 1998 New York City Annual Survey of Reportable Diseases and 
Conditions documented all gonorrhea cases hit a high in 1986 of 69,998 
diagnoses and declined to a low of 12,998 in 1996.  Also, primary and 
secondary syphilis cases peaked in 1988 at 5,042 diagnoses.  That figure 
starkly compares to a record low of 138 in 1996.  "Have these reductions 
remained steady?  Gone further downward?  Reversed and increased?  Answers 
should be readily available, 
perhaps even on the web," said Petrelis.

Copies of San Francisco's monthly STD surveillance report is available from 
Robert Kohn, director of S.F.'s STD control unit.  Kohn is at 415-554-8477.

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