According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most people who have Gonorrhea do not show symptoms and often are unaware they are infected. This makes the disease dangerous as sexual partners can infect others without knowing it, causing issues such as pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancies. Because symptoms are not always present, this makes controlling transmission more difficult and cases continue to occur. In fact, the CDC reports that the Unites States saw 648,056 cases of Gonorrhea in 2022. With prevention efforts like latex male condoms and long-term relationships with a partner who has been tested and known to be uninfected, you can protect yourself and others from Gonorrhea.

Cases of reportable disease in the state of Ohio are reported by providers and laboratories to local health departments using a system called Ohio Disease Report System (ODRS). This allows for local health departments (LHDs) to accurately monitor and investigate any case of disease requiring follow-up, isolation/exclusion, or guidance to prevent further transmission. This also allows LHDs to collect accurate data on how many cases of certain disease they have in their county to create graphs like the one you see! Using data from previous years, public health professionals can create threshold data to get a detailed prediction of what is “normal” for their county during a specific period.

Currently, when a case of Gonorrhea is reported to the health department, a request is sent out to the provider to send information regarding treatment for the patient. This allows for monitoring to ensure that individuals are getting treated to prevent further transmission of Gonorrhea. Reporting cases also collects important data to ensure no outbreaks occur within our county.

Licking County Health Department (LCHD) engages with providers every time we request treatment information for an individual. The LCHD clinic also refers patients to a local clinic if they believe STD testing will be beneficial. This clinic ensures that no patient goes without services, no matter their ability to pay. You can find more information for the STD testing and the clinic here: Family Health Services of East Central Ohio.