GREENVILLE, SC – Free sexually transmitted disease testing will be held in April to raise awareness during National STD Awareness Month, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental has announced.

“Most sexually transmitted diseases are silent, with no symptoms,” said Meredith Talford, DHEC Region 2 HIV health educator. “People can have a sexually transmitted disease and not know it.”

Talford said data shows one-half of the world’s population will have a sexually transmitted disease in their lifetime. Getting tested is the best way to find out whether you have an STD.

“Fifty percent is significantly high and shows that STDs are far more common than most think,” said Michelle McKinzie, DHEC Region 2 social worker. “So, it is extremely important that people get tested for their health and the health of others.”

McKinzie said DHEC Region 2 will partner with AID Upstate; Greenville Technical College; L.D. Barksdale Foundation; Mt. Moriah Baptist Church; Piedmont Care, Inc.; Spartanburg Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission and the Upstate S.C. Chapter of the American Red Cross to offer free testing at the following locations in Greenville and Spartanburg:

• Tuesday, April 15, 2008
  10 a.m.– 3 p.m.
  C.C. Woodson Community Center
  855 South Liberty Street
  Spartanburg, S.C.
• Saturday, April 26, 2008
  10 a.m.– 3 p.m.
  Old Plaza Latina
  6119 White Horse Road, Suite 14
  Greenville, S.C.
• Monday, April 28, 2008
  10 a.m.– 3 p.m.
  McAlister Square
  225 S. Pleasantburg Drive
  Greenville, S.C.

Talford said facts about STD include:

• More than half of all people will have an STD in their lifetime
• 50 percent of all new cases of HIV are among African-Americans
• Each year, one in four teens contracts an STD
• One in two sexually active persons will contract an STD by age 25

 For more information about sexually transmitted diseases visit DHEC’s Web site at www.scdhec.gov , the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Web site at www.cdc.gov, the American Social Health Association’s Web site at www.ashastd.org or contact your local DHEC public health department.