April is STD Awarness Month!

Every April we are proud to join the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to recognize STD Awareness Month. With over 20 million new STDs diagnosed each year, including 50,000 new HIV infections[1], we dedicate this month to renewing energy in the fight against STDs. This month we will refocus our members, ourselves, and our communities on sexual health and STD prevention.

Bookmark or subscribe to our blog, STD Prevention Gone Viral! for special posts about critical developments in STD prevention and sexual health. We will also host a Congressional briefing to educate members of Congress about the importance of STD programs and the urgent need to address the STD epidemic that is taxing our health care system. Stay tuned for additional information on that briefing.

We welcome your perspective on STD Awareness Month and invite you to write a blog or opinion piece, either for STD Prevention Gone Viral!, or another outlet. NCSD would be happy to assist you in these efforts.  Please reach out to NCSD's Director of Policy and Communications, Stephanie Arnold Pang directly via email or at 202-715-3865.

Additionally, join us in kicking off STD Awareness Month and add your voice to the conversation on Twitter. Feel free to use the sample tweets below throughout the month to raise STD awareness in your community. Additional social networking resources for STD Awareness Month are available at the CDC National Prevention Information Network site. And be sure to follow us @NCSDdc, and our partners @GYTnow, @CDCSTD, and @CDCNPIN for more updates throughout April.

·         April is STD Awareness Month! Providers—educate your patients about their risk for STDs, including HIV. http://bit.ly/1hc0kR8 #STDMonth14

·         Every year, over 20 million new STDs are diagnosed, including 50,000 new HIV infections. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1gPIELy #STDMonth14

·         Attention community based orgs! Get involved with STD prevention and reach out to your local health departments #STDMonth14

·         You and yours deserve to be sexually healthy. Keep this in mind when choosing your #STD, #HIV, and #repro health strategies. #STDMonth14

·         According to @CDCSTD, being infected with #herpes makes you 3x more likely to get infected with #HIV if exposed #STDMonth14  #prevention

·         Nearly half of all MSM with #syphilis are also infected with #HIV. Get tested today: http://hivtest.cdc.gov/STDTesting.aspx #STDMonth14

·         Chlamydia is a very common STD that can cause serious damage to reproductive organs.  Learn more here: http://1.usa.gov/1hDAdTT

o   Follow-up tweet, if applicable for your population: “Here is a link to this important document in Spanish: http://1.usa.gov/1dA3uTH #STDMonth14”

·         STDs are more common than you think! There are an estimated 1.4 million cases of #chlamydia each year. Go #GYT! http://1.usa.gov/1oz8FEW

·         STD Awareness Month is a great time to talk about HPV vaccination and cancer prevention: http://1.usa.gov/1lrtcMS #STDMonth14

·         Gonorrhea can be cured, but if left untreated it can cause serious and permanent health probs. http://1.usa.gov/1hi4dZ8 #STDMonth14

·         Most women with gonorrhea don’t show any symptoms! #GYT http://1.usa.gov/1myrcCX #STDMonth14

·         Between 2011 & 2012, the number of reported #syphilis cases increased 12%, affecting MSM most of all. http://1.usa.gov/1jD78il #STDMonth14

·         Make your contraceptive choice work harder for you—choose a method that also protects you from STDs and #HIV! #STDMonth14

·         The #ACA helps the LGBT population, a group disproportionately affected by #STDs. The more you know. http://1.usa.gov/1rGezGT #STDMonth14

NCSD is also a proud partner of the GYT: Get Yourself Tested campaign, which encourages testing for STDs, including HIV, as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and empowers young people to have an open dialogue about STDs. GYT has a more extensive list of draft tweets around young people and the importance of getting tested.  Those tweets can be found here.

And as always, if you have questions or concerns, please reach out to Stephanie Arnold Pang directly either via email or at 202-715-3865.