Residents in Rock Island County may be unknowingly passing chlamydia as cases continue to climb. Rock Island County Health Department Chief Nursing Officer Tracy Keenon said chlamydia cases make up nearly two-thirds of all sexually transmitted infection cases in the county. The department is now offering a low-cost, $25 dollars, or free screening covering the most common STIs.
“[I]f you look at the national statistics too, you're going to see the same thing,” Keenon said in a phone interview on April 29th. “Many STIs, including chlamydia, there's really, for a lot of people, really no symptoms or very mild symptoms. And for chlamydia specifically, that will manifest in most people as just some burning in urination. And some people will just attribute that to like a UTI (urinary tract infection).”
Keenon said people who should consider testing the most are those between the ages of 15 and 24 who are sexually active and may have multiple partners.
“[I]t would be very, very advantageous for that person to get screened. And if [there are] multiple partners and there's no prophylactic use at all, screening every six months would be even better because that way you can be sure that you are free from STI, which is very, very important,” Keenon said.
RICHD also tests for HIV, gonorrhea, and syphilis. The tests can be administered the same day they are requested, and results usually take 48 hours to come back.
“As long as we are not inundated with people, we can get them in and get them screened the same day that they walk in. Calling is the same thing. If they call and they want to come in, we can get them in right away, as long as it's not a Friday, because the lab is not open to process. And we would hate to take blood and urine and have that go to waste and not be able to test it,” Keenon said. The RIHD is open 8 a.m to 4:30 p.m.
If tests come back positive, the department can assist in treating chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Anyone with a positive HIV test will be referred to infectious disease specialists as well as the Project of the Quad Cities.
“We're going to keep their information private and confidential, and it will only be divulged to them on the results,” Keenon said. “And also that I don't want people to be afraid to pick up the phone or to walk in because we will treat them with respect and courtesy and privacy, because for a lot of people, it's hard for people to just come in and ask to have that done. And we know that.
“So we want to make sure that people feel comfortable coming to us, because we will make sure that they get what they need. And we don't want money to stand in the way either, because we want to make sure that people get the services they need, regardless of whether or not they have the ability to pay.”
The department is also continuing its Narcan kit outreach program, where anyone can anonymously request the nasal spray meant to reverse opioid overdoses free of charge.
“If somebody walks in and wants a Narcan kit, the only question we're going to ask them is, 'Do you know how to use it? And if they don't, we will teach them, and then we will give them a kit so that they can take it with them,” Keenon said. “We want to make sure the anonymity stays in place because we don't want people to feel like they have to divulge their personal information.
“It doesn't matter to us who they are or who they want to get the kit for. All that matters to us is that we get the kits into as many hands as possible. Because if somebody is a bystander and has a Narcan kit and there's a potential overdose that is happening, that person's life could be saved.”
Since the program began in May 2024, the department has distributed nearly 700 kits.
The Rock Island County Health Department is located at 2112 25th Ave, Rock Island, IL 61201.
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