Fear of AIDS Is One Factor, Officials Suggest : Gonorrhea Declines Sharply in County

The number of gonorrhea cases in Orange County dropped significantly last year, probably in part because of the fear of AIDS, according to county health officials.

“And it’s not just here. It’s been noted in a number of other jurisdictions,” said L. Rex Ehling, the county’s public health officer.

“People are having fewer sexual partners and are using safer practices,” such as using condoms, Ehling said. Safety precautions that can keep venereal diseases in check have been widely recommended in recent years to prevent the transmission of the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome. AIDS is a deadly disease that cripples the body’s immune system, leaving it vulnerable to infections, cancers and other diseases.

There has been a “downward trend” in the number of gonorrhea cases during recent years, although the numbers have “bounced around,” Ehling said.

Doctors are required to report cases of venereal disease to county health officials.

In 1986, 5,849 cases of gonorrhea were reported in the county, a 13% decrease from the previous year’s 6,699, he said.

There were 7,575 cases in 1979, 7,196 in 1980, 7,190 in 1981, 6,329 in 1982, 5,646 in 1983 and 6,608 in 1984, Ehling said.

By contrast, the number of reported cases of syphilis has continued to increase, with many people contracting the disease from prostitutes, he said.

“This has been a phenomenon here for several years, and it’s also occurred in the San Joaquin Valley,” Ehling said. “For whatever reason, we’re seeing it with syphilis” and not with gonorrhea, he said.

There were 923 reported syphilis cases in 1986, compared to 692 the previous year, he said. There were 654 cases in 1979, 685 in 1980, 417 in 1981, 462 in 1982, 525 in 1983 and 834 in 1984, he said.

The county screens suspected prostitutes in jail for venereal diseases--as well as for AIDS virus antibodies--to attempt to restrict the spread, Ehling said.

An AIDS education campaign is planned this year for the county’s intravenous drug users, many of them prostitutes, and also for people who have relations with prostitutes, the same two groups responsible for the increase in syphilis, Ehling said. If the AIDS education campaign is successful, it should also result in a lower syphilis rate, he said.