Tag: Awareness Days

STI Awareness Week (SAW) is the second full week in April each year. This year, it is April 12-18. SAW helps raise awareness about sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It also shows how STIs impact our lives and helps to decrease stigma, fear, and discrimination. We often use SAW to distribute tools and knowledge about STI prevention, testing, and treatment.

STI vs. STD

What’s the difference between “STI” and “STD”? To define the terms, STI is sexually transmitted infection, and STD is sexually transmitted disease. The World Health Organization began to replace the term STD with the term STI in 1999. The reason for this was to reduce stigma, and because not all infections turn into diseases with symptoms. For instance, some infections like chlamydia and HPV are often asymptomatic, making the term “infection,” more accurate. In fact, it is more common for STIs to not show symptoms, which is why regular screening is important.

While health care providers have made the transition to the term STI, the general public still uses STD as an umbrella term. Up to this point, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has still used the term STD in public communications. VDH will be fully transitioning to the term STI over the next few months.

STIs in Virginia

STIs are common in Virginia, with more than 55,000 reported new infections in 2024. On average, about 4,500 STIs were diagnosed each month in Virginia during 2024. Consistent with previous years, certain communities and conditions continued to be vulnerable or problematic. The rate of any STI per 100,000 people was about three times higher among Black or African American Virginians, compared to the statewide rate. The rate of syphilis also increased 145% among women from 2020 to 2024, while the rate among men increased 58%.

All data and reports for STIs, HIV, and viral hepatitis are available on the VDH website.

STI Prevention, Testing, and Treatment

Free or low-cost STI testing is available throughout Virginia. Testing is available at local health departments and community-based organizations. Testing is important since many STIs have no symptoms. Untreated STIs can cause lifelong health problems.

Find STI testing near you by using our locator service, Resource Connections, or the RC.

Learn about common STIs, prevention methods, and treatment options on our STI webpage.

Disease Prevention Hotline

If you or a loved one has questions about HIV, viral hepatitis, or STIs, call our confidential Hotline toll-free. The Virginia Disease Prevention Hotline number is 1-800-533-4148. The Hotline operates from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. It is closed for Virginia State Holidays.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) is observed on February 7 each year. It exists to raise awareness about the impact of HIV on Black and African American communities. It was first observed in 1999 and highlights the importance of decreasing stigma and increasing community involvement. Improving access to HIV education, prevention, testing, and HIV care are focuses of NBHAAD, as well.

Virginia data

As is the case across the U.S., Black and African American communities are more impacted by HIV in Virginia. In 2024, while Black/African American communities made up 19.12% of Virginia’s population, they accounted for 50.2% of new HIV diagnoses and 56% of people with HIV in Virginia that year. The figure below shows the rate of new HIV diagnoses by race and ethnicity per 100,000 persons. Using rates allows for the comparison across different population sizes.