As many as 90 percent of Americans who have chronic kidney disease (CKD) don’t know they have it until it’s advanced.
March is National Kidney Month, and DHEC is encouraging everyone to follow their kidney health closely. DHEC recognizes the significant roles health care professionals, renal dialysis facilities and those living with CKD play in the awareness of kidney disease.
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Pharmacists are among the most trusted members of our health care system. They not only check and dispense medications that their patients need, but they also offer advice on medicine dosages side effects, and the effectiveness of drug therapies. Patients often see their pharmacist more often than their primary care physician.
Every year on January 12 we take a moment to thank pharmacists for providing medications to keep us healthy and offering advice on over-the-counter drugs.
DHEC’s Bureau of Drug Control and the Office of Pharmacy provide care, education and oversight in our state.
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“I can’t wait.” That’s the theme the World Hepatitis Alliance has chosen for World Hepatitis Day, July 28. The intent is to highlight the need to accelerate the fight against viral hepatitis, the importance of testing and treatment, and to amplify the voices of people affected by calling for immediate action and the end of stigma and discrimination.
In our state, we declare that South Carolina Can’t Wait!
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The week of April 10-16 presents a tremendous opportunity to raise awareness of the impact of STDs in all populations.
STD Awareness Week provides an opportunity to examine how STDs impact our lives. It also helps to reduce STD-related stigma, fear, and discrimination. Through this special week, DHEC works to ensure that people have the tools and knowledge to prevent, test for, and treat STDs.
You can find an STD testing location near you by calling DHEC’s AIDS/STD Hotline at 1-800-322-AIDS (1-800-322-2437) or visiting DHEC’s service locator at www.scdhec.gov/HIVLocator.
Targeted Approach
DHEC’s programs and community partners target their HIV and STD prevention efforts to reach persons most at risk of acquiring these infections. This includes efforts to reach youth and young adults with information and resources to avoid the infections.
In 2020, 84% of cases of chlamydia in South Carolina were diagnosed in adolescents and adults under the age of 30. Of those cases, more than one in four (28%) were diagnosed in youth ages 15 to 19.
Also, in 2020, more than two-thirds (70%) of gonorrhea cases were diagnosed in persons between the ages of 15 to 29. Of those persons diagnosed, almost one of every five cases (18%) were among youth ages 15 to 19.
DHEC’s programs also work to increase access to treatment and support services for those who are impacted by HIV and other STDs.
Visit the DHEC website for more information and resources on HIV and STDs. You can also learn more about South Carolina’s Ending the Epidemics Plan.
When Dr. Robert Koch announced in 1882 his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB), it marked a critical turning point in the fight against the disease. It’s a fight that DHEC’s TB Control Division and its partners continue in South Carolina today.
In recent years, the push to control TB across the globe had been making positive strides until 2020 when there was what many hope will turn out to be simply a brief setback.
“For the first time in over a decade, TB deaths increased in 2020. The theme of World TB Day 2022 – ‘Invest to End TB. Save Lives.’ – conveys the urgent need to invest resources to ramp up the fight against TB and achieve the commitment to end TB made by global leaders.”
– Pan American Health Organization; World Health Organization, 2022
March 24 is World TB Day, and DHEC’s TB Control Division will celebrate it on Friday March 25, 2022. We will join local, state, national, and global public health officials, and partners in recognizing Dr. Koch’s efforts as well as that of people across the world who have worked to control and eliminate TB.
Click here to learn more about our work with partners to fight this illness.
About TB
Tuberculosis is a disease of the lungs that can be spread by coughing, sneezing, or speaking. It is treatable and preventable. We all can play an important role in eliminating tuberculosis in our community by understanding the signs and symptoms and helping to educate others.
The signs and symptoms of TB disease in other parts of the body depend on the area affected, but the general signs and symptoms of TB disease include:
Click here for a short video on one person’s story related to TB.
Live Healthy S.C. 