LA gives home test kits for chlamydia, gonorrhea

Public health directors all over the United States are watching Monday's announced expansion of the $2.5 million Los Angeles "I Know" campaign. If self-testing proves effective in reducing illnesses, it could also be a solution to budget cuts that have forced the closure of clinics that tested for STDs in Los Angeles County and elsewhere.

In 1996, there were 36 sexually transmitted disease testing clinics in the county, and today there are only 12, said Dr. Peter Kerndt, director of the county's STD program.

"We want medical services to be available all the time, but with clinic closures we had real reason to be concerned," Kerndt said.

Using the new model, the county will have to turn around some of the nation's worst health statistics to prove their program works.

Los Angeles County leads the country in the number of chlamydia cases and is second in gonorrhea cases, with the highest concentration of both illnesses in the young minority female populations of South Los Angeles, said county public health director Dr. Jonathan Fielding.

Eight kiosks in South Los Angeles will distribute free kits for girls and women under age 25 to perform a simple swab test and return the specimen to a lab. A week later, women can get test results online or by phone— and if necessary, free treatment and follow-up counseling.

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