The startling spread of STDs.

• Author: Guiden, Mary
• Position: Sexually transmitted diseases

Lawmakers have been passing new measures to educate the public and stem the spread of these infections

With an estimated 12 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) each year, the United States has the highest infection rate in the industrialized world - at least 50 to 100 times higher than other industrialized nations. But despite the high prevalence, it's still taboo in many circles to openly discuss the infections, what causes them and how to prevent them.

STDs remain "hidden" because they often go undetected. Major health consequences occur years after the initial infection, lessening awareness of any link to the original disease. Public discourse on the subject also is lacking because of the related stigma.

One South Carolina policymaker is shy no more when it comes to the subject of STDs. At 74 years of age, Senator Warren Giese never thought he'd quiz his colleagues with a question like, "Do you know what the status of chlamydia is?" After participat-ing in an NCSL Public Health Advisory Panel meet-ing in October 1997, he discovered that his home state ranks third out of 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories in reported cases of chlamydia (255.7 per 100,000 population), first in gonorrhea (317.5 per 100,000) and seventh in primary and secondary syphilis (10.9 per 100,000).

Hearing those numbers "was a shock," he admitted. "I'd been in the legislature for 15 years, and it was the first time I heard that we have such a problem."

Now STDs are not only something Giese has heard of, they're also something he's working to prevent. Over the past year, he spear-headed a project to raise awareness of the need for prevention and treatment of chlamydia and other STDs and will soon take his show on the road, so to speak. After the 1997 NCSL session, Giese - along with officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and NCSL - decided the best way to educate people and raise awareness was through public television.

Enter Bud Skidmore, director of scripted services for South Carolina's Educational Television Network. "We periodically take on health-related topics," said Skidmore, but the STD issue "is one of the most interesting because of the potential impact on communities and the potential cost savings, in both lives and dollars."

The 30-minute video first broadcast last May begins with an overview of the problem and the...