Erie County Health Commissioner Anthony Billittier says he does not know whether the county's numbers are so high because so many people have contracted gonorrhea, or if it's because more people here are getting tested and identified.
Still, he says the county and the medical community needs to keep plugging along a continue trying to educate and screen people for sexually transmitted diseases.
The 2007 numbers show that about 220 Erie County residents out of every 100,000 tested positive for gonorrhea. Compare that to about 126 New York City residents out of every 100,000 residents with gonorrhea.
The number of visits to Erie County's STD Clinic in Downtown Buffalo is also increasing this year. While people with gonorrhea are more heavily concentrated in the lowest-income areas that also endure other diseases, the physician at the clinic says people from all zip codes in the county come to the clinic for free treatment.
Gonorrhea is preventable and curable. Abstinence is the only sure-fire way to prevent contracting it, and the health commissioner says if you're not practicing abstinence, condom use is the next method of protection. The disease sometimes shows no symptoms, and many people might not know they've contracted it.
The health commissioner says it's best to be screened by your own doctor. But if you don't have a doctor or don't feel comfortable being checked by your own physician, Erie County offers free walk-in care at two STD Clinics for county residents. You can find more information at 858-7687.