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Director of nursing presents 2023 STD/HIV data: county sees high STD counts, HIV cases concentrated in younger adults
Summary
The Board received the health department's 2023 communicable disease overview: roughly 601 reportable STI cases, highest rates among ages 15–24, an HIV caseload that peaked at 13 in 2022, and hepatitis C counts driven in part by people newly counted after incarceration.
John Page, the Scotland County director of nursing, presented the health department's 2023 communicable-disease summary to the Board of Health, reporting elevated sexually transmitted infection (STI) counts and describing operational challenges with testing and follow-up.
Page said the county recorded about 601 reportable STI cases in the reporting period, with the highest burden among residents aged 15–24 and higher reported rates among females for chlamydia and gonorrhea. He reported that HIV cases have historically been small in absolute numbers but large per 100,000 because Scotland County's population is relatively small; the department recorded 13 HIV diagnoses in 2022 and 10 in 2023 in the state database, but staff said one of the 2023 records was for a South Carolina resident and should not be counted as a Scotland County diagnosis.
Page noted hepatitis C comprises a large share of reportable communicable disease counts for the county and that a meaningful portion of those cases are recorded when persons who were formerly incarcerated become county residents, which increases the county's reported totals.
The director described challenges in getting symptomatic people tested and treated through emergency rooms and urgent-care settings, where patients frequently receive care but are not always linked back to the health department for follow-up or education. He said emergency rooms often recommend patients get testing at the health department but that many do not come in for follow-up. The department works with state disease investigation specialists and regional offices to ensure treatment and partner notification when required.
Board members asked about prevention tactics. Page said the department emphasizes education and outreach, offers testing in clinic settings and works to normalize HIV testing in routine care. He cited barriers including stigma and logistics of contacting transient patients; he offered examples where positive results were not acted on promptly because the health department could not locate the patient.
Page told the board he expects final statewide published counts may differ slightly from the department's internal tracking because of interstate reporting and state data quirks; he said he has raised a correction request with state staff for a case wrongly attributed to Scotland County.
