medical, epidemiologic and educational. In the medical phase, public health activities are geared to early case recognition and early treatment of known cases. Blood testing programs are carried out where experience has shown a good yield of unknown syphilis cases. Therefore many blood testing programs are to be found in certain industries, most general hospitals, jails, juvenile halls, migrant labor areas and in certain neighborhoods where venereal diseases appear to be near epidemic proportions. These blood testing programs are additional to the premarital and prenatal requirements. Another state law requiring drops to be put into the baby's eyes at birth helps prevent blindness from gonorrhea.

The most important function of Public Health, however, is what we call "epidemiology". In this phase of activity, through confidential means, we try to locate all known contacts of infectious cases of venereal disease and help them seek medical examination and treatment if necessary. When contacts to infectious cases are located, they are informed of their exposure, but the name of the person to whom they were exposed is not disclosed. Since in most instances persons who have been exposed are not aware of any symptoms, it is important that they obtain examination and treatment immediately, before the disease "takes hold" or can be spread to other intimate contacts. For this examination and treatment, either the person's personal physician or public health facilities are available.

The main educational activities of public health are directed at younger age groups who acquire the majority of VD infections, so they will know the facts of venereal disease and what to do when they may have been exposed.

Q. Are public health facilities open to homosexuals?

A. They certainly are and it is important to realize that strictest confidence is not only provided but is necessary in our work. Every month. in California at least a couple of thousand homosexuals avail themselves of public health facilities. Recently I attended the World Forum for Syphilis in Washington, D.C., and there I learned that this is not peculiar to California. Throughout the nation, many thousands of homosexuals are availing themselves of public health venereal disease facilities. As important as knowing your own doctor, we feel everyone should get acquainted with the local health department. Many sexually active persons wisely come in regularly for diagnostic check-ups and also tell their friends to come in.

Q. Does the health department have any relationship to police agencies?

A. None, except the performance of jail screening examinations. In many places, as mentioned above, blood tests and gonorrhea examinations are routinely made on jail inmates since we find a considerable number of new cases through this endeavor. However, cases found in this manner are not subject to punitive measures but merely are treated and cured of the disease, strictly as a medical procedure. There are rare instances of problems with uncooperative patients known to be infected with a venereal disease which they are spreading and they refuse to stop spreading. In these exceptional cases, sometimes we're forced to contact the District Attorney for assistance to require the patient to stop spreading the disease. This happens not only with venereal diseases, but commonly happens with tuberculosis, typhoid fever, diphtheria and other communicable diseases when the public must be protected from infected persons who refuse to be sensible. Plague and smallpox, like the vener-