STDs

“And The Band Played On” by Randy Shilts puts emphasis on the connection between AIDS victims and syphilis cases. Many of the first San Franciscan cases had a history of syphilis, along with other STDs. While no zip code information for STD infections is available, infection numbers are available for Manhattan neighborhoods. Central Harlem, East Harlem, and Washington Heights show remarkable numbers for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea infections. Central Harlem (this includes zip codes 10026, parts of 10027 and 10030) is the hardest hit area, especially its Chlamydia cases for young women. The rate for 15-19 year old women is 6,919 per 100,000, while for 15-19 year old men the rate is 2,243 per 100,000 (Ref Table 15). This reflects the AIDS rate in the zip codes 10026, 10027, and 10030. Both 10026 and 10030 have two of the highest transmission rates, 5,132 and 5,110 respectively for every 100,000 (Ref Table 1). While such an extreme Chlamydia outbreak is mainly in Central Harlem, the numbers for Gonorrhea are less appalling. In the same age range (15-19 years old) the percent of positive tests for both men and women is ≤ 10% in 2006 for Central Harlem and East Harlem. There is also not as great of a difference between the number of male and female cases. This evidence helps support the claims made in “And the Band Played On,” AIDS rates and STD rates seem to be concentrated in the same areas.