Viral post misrepresents Texas STD data | Fact check
The claim: 40,000 people were diagnosed with STDs the week of June 9 in Houston
A June 20 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a chart of sexually transmitted diseases beside a column of corresponding numbers.
"More than 40,000 people in Houston, Texas were diagnosed with an STD last week," reads text in the post.
The post was shared more than 300 times in six days. Other versions of the claim were posted on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and X, formerly Twitter.
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Our rating: False
The post shows the number of STD tests distributed within a week throughout all of Texas, not the number diagnosed in Houston. A spokesperson for the city's health department said the numbers do not indicate whether the tests were positive or negative.
Post shows number of tests distributed, not positive results
Tucker Wilson, a spokesperson for the Houston Department of Health, told USA TODAY the post includes "grossly overstated numbers and incorrect information."
"The numbers represent laboratory tests reported for the entire state whether the test is positive or negative," Wilson said in an email. "Statewide, about 1.2 million HIV tests and 1.6 million syphilis tests are reported every year."
She said the publication of the data was a "misuse of a data system that violated (the health department's) policies and procedures to protect the public’s health."
"Although the intent was to communicate a public health message, the violation resulted in the sharing of aggregate STD and HIV data on social media," Wilson said. "No protected health information or personally identifiable information was released."
She said the department is investigating the data's release and implementing security measures "to prevent such future incidents."
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Data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the number of STD cases reported for the week of June 9 in Texas was nowhere near the post's claim.
In fact, there were no cases of chlamydia, syphilis or gonorrhea reported that week in Texas.
The likelihood of more than 17,000 cases of HIV being reported within a week in Houston is also unlikely, seeing as 16,700 new cases were reported in the entire southern region of the U.S. in 2021.
The user who shared the post failed to provide evidence to back up their claim when reached out to by USA TODAY.
Lead Stories also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Tucker Wilson, June 25, Email exchange with USA TODAY
CDC, accessed June 26, Weekly cases* of notifiable diseases: Congenital Syphilis
CDC, accessed June 26, Weekly cases* of notifiable diseases: Primary and Secondary Syphilis
CDC, accessed June 26, Weekly cases* of notifiable diseases: Gonnorhea
CDC, accessed June 26, Weekly cases* of notifiable diseases: Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection
CDC, April 22, Fast Facts: HIV in the United States
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 40,000 people tested for STDs in Texas, not diagnosed | Fact check
