Metro Health’s mobile units provide testing and treatment for most sexually transmitted infections at no cost.
SAN ANTONIO — A new study by Innerbody Research finds San Antonio ranks 22 out of 100 U.S. cities for sexually transmitted infections. It found that the Alamo City ranked the highest than any other Texas metro area.
Metro Health Public Health Administrator Miguel Cervantes said anyone who is sexually active should get tested once a year.
“Sometimes with STI’s people think it is not going to affect them,” he said.
Metro Health does have mobile units that travel throughout San Antonio. These units provide testing and treatment for most sexually transmitted infections at no cost.
“We also want to reduce the stigma of STI testing,” he said. “We want to be inclusive of general STI testing and general health practices.”
According to the study by Innerbody, it looked at STI rates from data put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest numbers are from 2023.
It broke it down to top 25 U.S. cities with the highest STI rates. San Antonio ranked 22nd, and finds it had the largest number of infections of any big Texas metro area. The reportable STI’s include syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and HIV.
According to the study, below are the following numbers:
STI Cases / 100K Population: 1,182
HIV Cases: 396
Chlamydia Cases: 14,191
Gonorrhea Cases: 6,622
Syphilis Cases: 578
“For chlamydia that is the condition that gets reported at the highest levels,” Cervantes said. “We usually see about 12,000 to 14,000 new infections annually.”
He said gonorrhea is the next highest infection, and then syphilis which he said is tracked differently. Cervantes said it is hard to pinpoint one reason on the increase in numbers.
“There are a lot of factors that play into why and whether or not this is a significant increase or people are testing more as well,” Cervantes said. “I am not sure the one reason why we are seeing increase numbers now.”
For a schedule of Metro Health’s mobile unit, click here.