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Q&A: Local Expert Puts New Peoria County STI Numbers In Perspective

Deric Kimler, executive director of Central Illinois Friends, during a Zoom interview with WCBU.
Zoom
Deric Kimler, executive director of Central Illinois Friends, during a Zoom interview with WCBU.

Peoria County continues to lead the nation in reported cases of sexually transmitted infections.

According to new data released by the Peoria County Board of Health last week, gonorrhea and syphilis cases increased in 2020. While chlamydia incidence rates decreased slightly from 2019 to 2020, cases were still greatest among Black women.

Key report findings include:

  • Chlamydia and gonorrhea rates within Peoria County were 1.4 to 2.8 times that of the state and national values.
  • About two-thirds of chlamydia cases – 1,620 cases in 2019 and 1,599 cases in 2020 -- were reported among women. Gonorrhea cases – 908 cases in 2019 and 1,242 in 2020 -- were more evenly split between genders.
  • Reported cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia were highest among Black Peorians between the ages of 15 and 29. The 61603, 61604 and 61605 zip codes accounted for more than 75 percent of gonorrhea cases in Peoria County. (These zip codes collectively account for 34 percent of the county population.)
  • Syphilis cases increased by 16 percent from 2019 to 2020 following an 80 percent from 2017 to 2018 and a 48 percent spike from 2018-2019.

Read the full report here.

WCBU reporter Hannah Alani talked with Deric Kimler about this report.

Kimler is the executive director of Central Illinois Friends, a Peoria-based nonprofit that offers free HIV and STI testing, HIV prevention medication and HPV vaccines, as well as health counseling and referral services.

DERIC KIMLER: The United States leads the entire industrialized world in STI rates. Illinois is 11th, last time I checked, for STI rates. And Peoria, Illinois has been first for quite some time in STI ratios here in the state of Illinois. So you can arguably say that Peoria, Illinois, county of Peoria, and McLean county is not too far behind it, are leaders in STI ratios in the entire industrialized world.

HANNAH ALANI: Wow … That puts a spotlight on Peoria for sure.

DERIC KIMLER: And with that being said, it's easier for me to have this conversation now since COVID. Because people are more well versed and talking about viral loads and viruses, testing. … I can talk to populations right now, and people understand what I'm saying a little easier, because of the news. Talking about infections and rates and viral loads and vaccines and the language that comes with that. And since that's become everyday language, I think we have a more educated population when it comes to infectious disease.

…But we got to realize, and I've been saying this since well before COVID, is that every body is different. And viruses react differently to all of our bodies. Viruses are living creatures as well. They're living beings, and they also adapt and grow and change. And some viruses are more aggressive in some bodies than others.

HANNAH ALANI: Do you think the data show that STI rates are truly going up, because more people are having sex, or the viruses are transmitting more, there's a higher, you know, quantity of cases out there? Or is it because we're testing more?

DERIC KIMLER: There’s a lot of ways to unpack this, and some ways are good. Yes, we are doing more testing. In fact, we're testing for viruses we've just now figured out, like trichomoniasis.

…Our tests are getting better. We're getting more accurate information, which is going to naturally have an increase of STI rates. We don't know what the peak of STI rates are. … But we're doing more STI testing than ever before, which is a good thing.

Gonorrhea rates in Peoria County in 2020 led national rates.
Peoria County
Gonorrhea rates in Peoria County in 2020 led national rates.

HANNAH ALANI: What stands out most to you about this report? … Is there one STI in particular, where the numbers are really jumping out to you, and why?

DERIC KIMLER: For me, it's gonorrhea and chlamydia. But let me address syphilis. Syphilis numbers are up throughout the entire nation. It's not unique here in Peoria. Yes, that the percentages are alarming … But when your numbers are so low, and you have an outbreak in a small population, those numbers are gonna skyrocket real quick, right? So comparatively speaking, syphilis is still a lower rate than gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV, hepatitis, etc. But syphilis is a point of major concern right now. It is a very, very hard virus to fight off. Even though there is a cure. It takes constant monitoring for a lifetime, to be honest with you, to make sure that the titers do not come back up in your body.

… I go back to the reason why all of our STI 's are jumping up in the United States compared to other countries. It’s because we're still fighting comprehensive sexual education. We're still treating sex as if the only purpose is to have a baby. … We don't even like to talk about sex. We clam up on the mere thought that our parents had sex to create us. It blows my mind how many adults have it but refuse to talk about it. It is just as much as part of your health as eating. … If you don't feel comfortable telling your doctor that you have oral sex, or that you have multiple partners, or even tell them your sexuality … These are all things that we have to be able to unpack and talk to our doctors and feel comfortable, because that sore throat may not be a sore throat.

Chlamydia rates among teens in Peoria County in 2020
Peoria County
Chlamydia rates among teens in Peoria County in 2020
Chlamydia rates among young adults in Peoria County led national rates in 2020
Alani, Hannah
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Peoria County
Chlamydia rates among young adults in Peoria County led national rates in 2020

HANNAH ALANI: Can you tell our listeners a bit about what symptoms they can look out for if they think they may have contracted gonorrhea or chlamydia?

DERIC KIMLER: You could have vaginal discharge or penile discharge. You could have a substance rectally. Or if you feel like there's an increase of what feels like phlegm in your throat. Those are all symptoms. Painful urination, vaginal bleeding … sometimes something as simple as abdominal or pelvic pain or discomfort can be a sign or symptom. Often patients are not showing symptoms. That's the most dangerous.

HANNAH ALANI: Not only does the data skew younger, the higher rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia are found in three of the poorest zip codes in Peoria. And it was also highest among Black 15 to 29 year olds. Where do you see the socio-economic and racial disparities … What do you make of that, when you look at this data?

DERIC KIMLER: The reality is that lower socio-economic individuals don't have a say where their data goes. Upper-income families do. If you live in Washington, Morton, Eureka, Dunlap, etc., and you have a private physician that you know and trust, and mom or dad takes daughter or son into see the doctor and doesn't want the other guardian to know that they're sexually active. ‘Yes, you tested positive, but we're going to mark it down as a UTI, because we don't want people to know. We don't want this on your medical record.’ It's embarrassing, right?

…No. 2, access to care. If you are someone who doesn't have access to care, and say you are showing side effects of an STI, you're more likely to live with the pain longer than someone who has access to care.

When people hear ‘access to care,’ they think a free clinic. Well, money is a barrier. Insurance is a barrier. But you know what else a barrier? Your front desk staff at a clinic. If you don't speak my language, and you judge me for coming in for an STI, that can be a barrier for me coming in. If you are acting like my mere existence is the worst part of your day, then why do I want to come in and get an STI test? … From my perspective … the biggest, biggest hurdle is people who are answering the phones at the clinics.

Peoria County STI data in 2020
WCBU
Peoria County STI data in 2020

HANNAH ALANI: Can you give some examples of stigmatizing language, or actions or behaviors, that front desk staff have done that's turned people away?

DERIC KIMLER: Well, people who test positive for hepatitis, or syphilis, or they find later that someone's living with HIV at a hospital, and their nurses coming back in with full hazmat material. That's ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous. And it shows me that you don't know your job because you don't know how the virus is transmitted. If you're a nurse, and I'm supposed to trust you with my health, and you're acting that way, then I'm not going to tell you anything again, you've lost all our trust with me as a patient. … If you're bringing in your stigma against the LGBTQ population, if you're bringing your implicit and explicit biases on race, ethnicity, language, citizenship, etc., … all of that should have been left at the door.

…One in two people will have an STI by the time they're 25. The majority of the population will get a sexually transmitted infection. We need to have that conversation about how you shouldn't be afraid of that conversation. You should be educated and provide that education. You’re not dirty. You are not dirty for getting an STI.

HANNAH ALANI: I think a lot of our listeners will look at this, particularly families with children at home and say, ‘Oh, gosh, what should I do? Does this mean I need to go get my kid tested?’ But they're still scared to have that conversation. If you were able to get a message out to every parent or guardian listening to this, what would you like to say?

DERIC KIMLER: Get yourself and get your kids tested. If they come to Central Illinois Friends, we sit down for a one-on-one. And if we find the child's not sexually active, no, we're not going to do a test. That'd be a waste of our resources. But what we can do is spend that time to provide them education. So if you're a parent, and you don't know if your child's sexually active or not, don't know how to bring up that conversation, don't know how to make them comfortable, or just don't think that they're telling you the truth. Bring them anyways. Get yourself tested as an example, because you should be tested as well. … You'd be surprised how many people have a dormant virus of herpes … it's good to come in and get tested. It's completely free. No questions asked, no matter what box you check. And you can provide that education for your child when they come in and get tested.

So I guess my message to adults is to start leading by example. Start talking about sex. Because it's part of life. Ninety-eight percent of individuals will have sex before they die, according to the World Health Organization. So teach it. Talk about sex. Get yourself and your loved ones tested.

Learn more about services offered by Central Illinois Friends by calling 309-671-2144 or by visiting the organization’s website.

Hannah Alani is a reporter at WCBU. She joined the newsroom in 2021. She can be reached at hmalani@ilstu.edu.