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Sexually Transmitted Diseases Keep Rising

Posted on: Tuesday, 29 November 2005, 06:00 CST

By Delthia Ricks

Syphilis and chlamydia, two formidable sexually transmitted diseases, are rising in distinct groups, say government public health officials who also have found that STDs continue to increase despite prevention campaigns.

Nationally, "19 million STD infections occur every year," said Dr. Ronald Valdiserri of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He said STDs can lead to a number of secondary conditions, from infertility to neurologic damage. Almost half the cases are among people between ages 15 and 24.

During a recent CDC news briefing, Valdiserri, , acting director the health agency's HIV, STD and tuberculosis prevention programs, and Dr. John Douglas, director of the agency's STD prevention programs, provided context to the statistical snapshots illustrating the challenges facing public health officials.

Some STDs are undergoing a resurgence; others, such as chlamydia, are probably underestimated, they said, because there are no regulations requiring it to be reported. And while diseases such as gonorrhea appear to be declining, a more dangerous drug-resistant form of the disease is being detected.

Both experts attributed risky sexual behavior to a surge in STD cases, especially in major metropolitan areas such as New York City. Douglas cited an increasing use of the drug crystal methamphetamine, which decreases sexual inhibitions. A second trend is unprotected sexual activity, especially among teens and people in their early 20s. And a third is use of the Internet chat rooms to find anonymous sex partners.

Nationally, the incidence of syphilis rose between the years 2001 to 2004, after decreasing throughout the 1990s and reaching an all- time low in 2000. The ancient bacterial disease -- its incidence has been recorded since biblical times -- was targeted for eradication in the United States by the surgeon general in 1999.

Douglas said the resurgence is "mostly increasing among men who have sex with men," a trend among men of all racial and ethnic groups nationwide. Indeed, gay men accounted for 64 percent of all syphilis cases in 2004 compared with 5 percent six years ago.

Syphilis outbreaks, Douglas said, have been most notable in states with major cities. CDC data shows that California, Texas, New York and Florida had the largest number of cases from 2000 to 2004, the years under study in the agency's report. Within that period, the rate of syphilis cases rose by 81 percent, the study showed. Valdiserri said that thousands of STD cases go undiagnosed, particularly cases of human papilloma virus and genital herpes. Neither of those infections was studied in the CDC report.

Source: Cincinnati Post

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