Omaha is known for several things – The College World Series, Henry Doorly Zoo, Warren Buffet, Runza sandwiches, steaks and many more. However, one topic often overlooked is the high rate of sexually transmitted diseases in Omaha.

In 2004, the Douglas County Board of Health declared a STD epidemic. We have significantly higher rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea than the US average – as well as being higher than several large cities (Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, Columbus and Kansas City). Chlamydia and gonorrhea rates have reached record highs in our community. However – 2017 marked a change for us. The rate of chlamydia in Douglas County finally plateaued (666.3 per 100,000). Unfortunately, gonorrhea rates have still increased but the percent difference is much less than it was in the previous year (15% increase in 2017 vs. 30% increase in 2016).

The STD Prevention and Control Program has been working hard the past year to put a halt to the increasing numbers of chlamydia and gonorrhea. Our team worked to assure treatment on 98% of all the positive cases reported in our county – that means following up on more than 5,100 cases.

Not only does this team do an outstanding job of treatment assurance, they conduct client risk interviews, partner notification and education throughout the county. This past year, the disease investigators in our program interviewed almost 2,000 people (which was twice the number of interviews they did in the past year) and discovered 1,100 partners (400 more than 2016).

In order to tackle this epidemic, our team focuses not only on the treatment and partner notification – but also on the education side. Last year, our outreach team educated more than 20,000 individuals in our county, tested over 1,800 individuals in non-traditional settings and distributed more than 300,000 condoms.

None of this would be possible without our clerical staff helping distribute cases, assist in collecting treatment and recording all this great information! We could not have gotten this far without all of these groups coming together and working hard – now the next goal is to start seeing those rates decrease!

The DCHD Team:

• Disease Investigators: Kina Watson-DeBerry, Nakiea Boetger, Aly Rebolledo, and Vanessa Wagner
• STD/HIV Prevention Specialists: Sherri Nared and Ashley Stenberg
• Community Health Educator: Dave Maas
• Clerk Typists: Diana Gross and Vanessa Salakar
• CSTE Fellow: Kiara Diggins-Parker