Madison County Health Department
has seen a recent increase in sexually transmitted disease screenings, which it attributes to a free ad on the popular dating app Grindr. Photo Illustration by Caleb Amick and Richard Sitler | The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON — Madison County Health Department has seen a recent increase in sexually transmitted disease screenings, which it attributes to a free advertisement on the popular LGBTQ+ dating app, Grindr.
The advertisement is part of a service Grindr offers health entities, said Tiffany Denton, outreach coordinator for the department.
“Grindr is a dating site used largely by men who have sex with men,” she said. “They wanted to push the availability of HIV screenings in different areas.”
Grindr let MCDH advertise its entire STD screening initiative, which includes free HIV screenings.
The department has seen an increase in testing, but precise numbers are not yet available.
Screenings are done for little to no cost via a mobile unit, Denton said.
The unit travels to Alexandria once a month and Elwood twice a month.
Screenings for diabetes as well as COVID and flu vaccinations are also available, the MCHD website said.
Increasing awareness is the name of the game, Denton said.
“Should you choose not to get tested, that’s a choice,” she said. “Should you choose because you’re not aware of testing being available, that’s a tragedy.”
Denton said the department offers free condoms and other safer sex items.
Stephenie Mellinger, the department’s administrator, said officials in Madison County and nationwide are seeing increases in STDs, particularly syphilis.
In 2021, more than 171,000 cases of syphilis were reported, an increase of more than 69,000 from 2017, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Syphilis can cause collateral damage, especially for pregnant women, as it can be transmitted to the fetus. This is called congenital syphilis.
There were 2,677 cases of congenital syphilis reported in 2021, an increase of more than 1,700 from 2017, according to the CDC.
The CDC recommends women be screened during their first prenatal visit.
Not doing so can result in potentially serious complications such as meningitis, low birth weight and death, a CDC fact page said.
Syphilis is treatable for both parties, especially if treated promptly, the CDC said.
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