Texas ranks 3rd out of 50 states for new HIV diagnoses in 2015.

In 2015, an estimated 4,476 adults and adolescents were diagnosed with HIV in Texas. Texas ranked 3rd among the
50 states in the number of HIV diagnoses in 2015. There are a number of reasons for this, including Texas containing several of the nation’s most populous cities, lack of access to screenings and treatment, and what experts say are gaps in the school’s sex ed programs.

According to the Dallas County Health and Human Services, in 2013, numbers of primary and secondary syphilis diagnoses in Dallas County increased by 31% from 2012. And in Bexar County, more than 13,000 residents were diagnosed with chlamydia and more than 3,900 were diagnosed with gonorrhea in 2015, which is 44% and 66% higher, respectively, than the U.S. rates.

And in early 2017, it was reported that many Texas public schools are dropping sex education from their curriculum entirely. Without sex education in schools, the responsibility falls primarily to parents, but not all of them are eager to have the talk.

“We live in a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ generation,” said J. Dalton Keel, chairman of Lubbock’s Board of Health “That’s not going to help any of our health problems. Kids are going to have sex. When you’re going through puberty and hormones are going through your body, you start to realize a certain sex looks good to you. That’s just the black and white of it.”

Keel further added, “Even junior-level college students often don’t have a clear understanding of sex. They’re often shocked that STDs can be transmitted through oral sex, and that unprotected sex just one time is enough to transmit an STD.”

Private Testing Center exists to educate the public about STDs and safe sex practices, and also provides easy, affordable and discreet testing at over 2,000 locations nationwide. These include over 50 testing labs in and around Fort Worth, Texas.

You owe it to yourself to get answers and protect yourself and your partners. Get tested regularly. Same-Day appointments are available and the average lab visit is over in just 15 minutes. We’ve worked hard to make your experience as convenient and pleasant as possible. Call us today.