Petrelis Files

DPH: City Clinic HIV Fell 14% in 2008;
Gay Gonorrhea Down 5.3%

San Francisco's monthly STD report for December, which included preliminary year-end stats, was posted to the health department's web site last week and it deserves attention. As you read the numbers, bear in mind that some rates may rise slightly due to late reporting from labs.

The HIV rate at City Clinic, the largest testing site in the city, fell 14%, a nice double-digit dip, even though number of tests performed rose 2%. There was a 2% rise in acute HIV infections at the clinic, but the figure was still comfortably under 20.

Table 3

2008 YTD
Tests 5,368
Poz 98
Acute 17

2007 YTD
Tests 5,280
Poz 114
Acute 15

The December editorial note stated that in 2008, increases were seen for chlamydia and syphilis. What is not reported either in the note or any of the tables, are numbers for how many tests for each infection were performed. Unfortunately, DPH's monthly report omits, unlike the HIV test numbers, any stats on tests administered for other STDs.

DPH further reported that "rectal gonorrhea among declined from 490 cases to 464 -- a 5.3% decline." For years, before valid HIV epidemiology began in SF and CA with name reporting laws, this rate was pretty much _the_ surrogate marker for guesstimating our HIV infection rate. If only for old time's sake, let's again use this (plummeting) infection among gay buttboys to confirm HIV experiencing continuing reductions.

Contradicting that 5.3% decline, the department says rectal chlamydia surged 12.5%.

Some mixed stats presented here, but I'd say the drops in HIV and rather low acute infections detected at City Clinic, coupled with the falling gay gonorrhea stats, are positive signs. When I look at the month prelim numbers and evaluate them in the context of DPH's study on HIV is hyperendemic in San Francisco, I see an honest waning of HIV and real control of STD.

I've never known why DPH presents data on number of crystal meth related visits to the ER at SF General Hospital since such visits are not an infection, duh, but I'd rather have the data than not and there appears to be a glimmer of hope on that rate.

Here are the stats:

Table 4

2008
453 visits

2007
513 visits

That's an almost 12% drop in speed visits to the hospital.

Let's keep these stats going down!