IMPORTANCE Contact tracing is a multistep process to limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Gaps in the process result in missed opportunities to prevent COVID-19.OBJECTIVE To quantify proportions of cases and their contacts reached by public health authorities and the amount of time needed to reach them and to compare the risk of a positive COVID-19 test result between contacts and the general public during 4-week assessment periods.

Effective interventions that reduce adolescent STIs are needed to avert future STI and HIV acquisition. Focusing on adolescents with gonococcal infections or multiple STIs might have the greatest impact on future HIV risk.

Background Inequalities in Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonorrhea) burden by sexual minority status in the United States are difficult to quantify. Sex of sex partner is not routinely collected for reported cases. Population estimates of men who have sex with men (MSM) necessary to calculate case rates have not been available until recently. For these reasons, trends in reported gonorrhea rates among MSM have not been described across multiple jurisdictions. Methods We estimated of the number of MSM cases reported in 6 jurisdictions continuously participating in the STD Surveillance Network 2010–2015 based on interviews with a random sample of cases. Data were obtained for Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, San Francisco, California (excluding San Francisco), and Washington State. Estimates of the MSM, heterosexual male (MSW) and female populations were obtained from recently published estimates and census data. Case rates and rate-ratios were calculated comparing trends in reported cases among MSM, heterosexual males and women. Results The proportion of male gonorrhea cases among MSM varied by jurisdiction (range: 20% to 98%). Estimated MSM rate increased from 1369 cases per 100,000 in 2010 to 3435 cases per 100,000 in 2015. Between 2010 and 2015, the MSM-to-Women gonorrhea rate ratio increased from 13:1 to 24:1, and the MSM-to-MSW gonorrhea rate ratio increased from 16:1 to 31:1. Conclusions Estimated gonorrhea rate among MSM increased in a network of 6 geographically diverse US jurisdictions. Estimating the size of this population, determining MSM among reported cases and estimating rates are essential first steps for better understanding the changing epidemiology of gonorrhea.

Background Targeted partner notification (PN), or limiting PN to groups in which efforts are most successful, has been suggested as a potentially cost-effective alternative to providing PN for all syphilis case-patients. The purpose of this study was to identify index case characteristics associated with highest yield partner elicitation and subsequent case finding to determine whether some groups could be reasonably excluded from PN efforts. Methods We examined index case characteristics and PN metrics from syphilis case management records of 4 sexually transmitted disease control programs—New York City, Philadelphia, Texas, and Virginia. Partner elicitation was considered successful when a case-patient named 1 or more partners during interview. Case finding was considered successful when a case-patient had 1 or more partners who were tested and had serologic evidence of syphilis exposure. Associations between case characteristics and proportion of pursued case-patients with successful partner elicitation and case finding were evaluated using χ2 tests. Results Successful partner elicitation and new case finding was most likely for index case-patients who were younger and diagnosed at public sexually transmitted disease clinics. However, most characteristics of index case-patients were related to success at only a few sites, or varied in the direction of the relationship by site. Other than late latent case-patients, few demographic groups had a yield far below average. Conclusions If implemented, targeted PN will require site-specific data. Sites may consider eliminating PN for late latent case-patients. The lack of demographic groups with a below average yield suggests that sites should not exclude other groups from PN.