Recent social media posts have falsely claimed that thousands of people in Houston were diagnosed with STDs last week. One post inaccurately reported that 17,000 people tested positive for HIV and 19,000 for syphilis. Another post claimed 46k STDs were diagnosed in a week. However, these figures were actually the number of tests conducted, not positive diagnoses. The Houston Health Department has debunked these claims, clarifying that the data was misinterpreted. Independent reporter Merissa Hansen was one of the sources of the false information. Harris County, where Houston is located, is one of 48 counties in the U.S. with a high rate of new HIV diagnoses, which has led to targeted federal funding to combat the epidemic.
No, there were NOT 17,000 HIV diagnoses in Houston last week. There were that many TESTS. Harris County is one of 48 counties in which the majority of new HIV diagnoses occur. And so, federal money is targeted there, as it is in all these counties, to help fight the epidemic. https://t.co/S4o9FChnwX
FACT CHECK: This person is claiming that 17,000 people tested positive for HIV last week in Houston. This is: 🚨FALSE🚨 The data she points to in her post is about HIV TESTS, not positive HIV tests. There are only about 32,000 HIV transmissions in the entire US per year. https://t.co/LIfpQUVbxB
BREAKING: Seventeen thousand people tested positive for HIV last week, and nineteen thousand tested positive for syphilis in Houston, Texas, according to independent reporter Merissa Hansen (@merissahansen17).
Fact check: A social media post claimed 46k STDs were diagnosed in Houston in a week. Was that true? https://t.co/4CWSle7qMs
Social media posts falsely claim thousands in Houston were diagnosed with STDs, health department says https://t.co/Pla5CQPzsJ
There were over 42,000 people diagnosed with a STD in Houston just last week. 😳 https://t.co/WeAKiuHsgU