Reported cases of syphilis in Kansas City quadrupled in 2014 compared to 2010.

Reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in Kansas City rose last year, following a spike that the whole nation is undergoing. Reported STDs reached an unprecedented high in the United States in 2015.

Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, more private providers have been offering routine STD screenings, which has helped identify more people with STDs. Kansas City Councilman Quinton Lucas, who serves on the neighborhood committee that oversees the Kansas City Health Department, says the rising STD numbers are cause for concern.

“We have to keep getting the message across that using protection matters,” he says. “I think a lot of those things that were social/cultural flashpoints in the 1990s – condoms in the schools and all of that – we’ve moved away from the conversation and I think that’s to our detriment. I think making condoms readily available, as available as we possibly can, probably another awareness campaign (is important).”

The majority of STD cases are still undiagnosed and untreated. There is much work to be done. Private Testing Center strives to combat this epidemic by making it extremely fast, affordable and discreet to get tested for all the most common STDs as well as HIV. We have over 2,000 locations nationwide, including 20 locations within a 50 mile radius of Kansas City. The answers about your sexual health are just a short drive away.

Same day appointments are also usually available, with the average lab visit taking no more than 15 minutes. There’s no excuse for leaving your sexual health to chance. Undiagnosed and untreated, many of these diseases can cause permanent bodily harm, or even death. But with a simple test, treatment options and even cures become available, and you also avoid spreading the diseases to your sexual partners. Don’t play an inadvertent part in perpetuating the epidemic. Get tested today.