AIDS education efforts helps cut down on the spread of other sexually transmitted diseases

Steve Kutz, a supervisor at the Washoe District Health Department, said people seeking testing for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, often are tested for other diseases as well.

"People who come in for HIV testing are at risk for other sexually transmitted diseases, so we can encourage and provide testing for those as well," Kutz said.

"Part of HIV education is the use of condoms," he said. "So that also helps prevent other sexually transmitted diseases."

Last year, there were 429 new cases of HIV in Nevada, down from 665 new cases reported in 1996.

But medical officials add that people are so focused on HIV and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome that they often overlook the seriousness of some other diseases, such as genital warts, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis.

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