The impact of discontinuation of male STD screening services at a large urban county jail: Chicago, 2002-2004.

BACKGROUND

Before April 2003, all male detainees were offered chlamydia (CT) and gonorrhea (GC) screening tests, after which services were limited to symptom-based testing. In 2003, male screening was discontinued at a large urban county jail.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of discontinuing universal male sexually transmitted disease screening in a large county jail.

METHODS

We compared the number of male CT/GC cases during the periods of universal screening (April 2002 to March 2003) with symptom-based testing (April 2003 to March 2004).

RESULTS

The number of reported CT/GC cases among male detainees declined by -91.7% (3329-277) and -90.5% (1133-108), respectively after universal screening was discontinued. Citywide, CT/GC cases among males and females declined by -9.3% (24,885-22,563) and -12.9% (13,249-11,541), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Discontinuation of universal male CT/GC screening services at a large county jail represents a missed opportunity to screen a high-risk population and was associated with substantial declines in reported morbidity.