New York among six locations awarded funding for STD research

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that $6.2 million in funding will be awarded to six major health departments across the country. Over the next three years, institutes located in New York, North Carolina, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Texas and Washington, DC will use the grant towards developing preventative methods against hepatitis C and HIV, MedicalNewsToday.com reports.

Researchers at all six locations will focus on increasing the number of prevention programs as well as screening and treatment facilities across the country. Furthermore, each department will receive assistance from the CDC to adapt these new offerings to the needs of each area's patients.

Health department and CDC officials hope that enhancing the public's access to these initiatives will slow the spread of these sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and educate people about the importance of practicing safe sex, the news source reports.

Kevin Fenton, director of HIV/AIDS, STDs, Viral Hepatitis and TB Prevention at the CDC National Center, stated that the funding will "enable health departments in six areas with high burden of disease to evolve beyond their current disease-specific prevention approaches and begin providing more comprehensive services, which ultimately should save time, resources and lives."

According to the CDC, approximately 25 percent of Americans who have tested positive for HIV have also been diagnosed with hepatitis C.