Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 14 · column 3 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
she said, because “untreated STDs can cause sterility and infections that affect other tissues such as the heart, joints and spinal cord.” Mrs. Facchina said there is usually an increase in the number of STDs in the summer season, particularly among teens.
All STD treatment through the Health Department is free of charge. “It’s a scarey thing,” she said. “The number of cases in the state is growing. Syphillis is growing, and many strains of gonorrhea are resistant to penicillin. I feel we should be well aware of them and educate people on how to prevent them from occuring. ”
AIDS is also “scary,” she said because “there is no known cure at the present time,” and people can be spreading the HIV infection for years without showing any symptoms. “A lot of people have been exposed and not tested,” she said.
The Health Department is reluctant to advise such people to get tested, she said. As long as there is no cure many people don’t want to know if they have the virus, and “there have been cases of people who have lost their jobs or apartments just because it was known that they had the test done. ”
The Rappahannock Health Department can have a confidential test done. At other offices it is possible to have an anomymous test performed. People who know they have the HIV virus in their system can receive medical attention and the use of drugs which slow down the course of the disease, she said. “It is definitely something we have to be very concerned about in educating young people,” she said.
For more information about the programs and services offered by the Rappahannock County Health Department, call 675-3516. The office is located at the comer of Main St. and Blue Ridge Ave., in the first floor of the old Washington Cash Store.
94.9%