By Aaron Miller-

Cases of sexually transmitted diseases in the United States are at an all time high, according to a federal report.

There were 1.5 million chlamydia cases in 2015 — a 6 percent increase from the year before, and about 400,000 infections of gonorrhea, or a 13 percent rise, according to a report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cases of syphilis rose to levels unseen since the mid-1990s. There were nearly 24,000 cases of primary and secondary syphilis cases last year, showing a 19 per-cent rise when compared with 2014.

Health officials have blamed the rise on cuts in funding for prevention, and a decrease in the number of people going to clinics to be tested. A statement from the director of CDC’s National centre for HIV/AIDS, viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB prevention

“We have reached a decisive moment for the nation,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, in a statement. “STD rates are rising, and many of the country’s systems for preventing STDs have eroded. We must mobilize, rebuild and expand services — or the human and economic burden will continue to grow.”

California ranks highly on the list, the rate of infection for some sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia being highest in Alaska where the population is smaller. The report claims that Gonorrhea cases nearly doubled in five years, from 27,500 infections in 2011, to 54,000 in 2015.

The report seizes the opportunity to highlight that funding for STD prevention also stagnated in the state around the same period of the noted increases in the infection. In 2015, Gov. Jerry Brown signed off on $5.1 million for STD prevention programs, when the population rose to 38.8 million people, according to a Daily News analysis. The latest budget allocates about the same amount.

Officials with the state’s Department of Public Health have attributed the rise to a number of variables, including changes in sexual behavior, increased awareness of the symptoms, better access to care and testing services, and improved public health reporting.

CONDOMS

State officials said many young people face barriers to getting and using condoms, despite the wide accessibility of condoms. It was also stated that evidence shows condoms aren’t being used correctly. However, the report failed to note that there are a number of people who are so negligent as to ignore the use of condoms, especially when they have run out. A number of individuals do not even make the efforts to obtain condoms before sex, and many are controlled and driven by their sexual impulses.

Reference was made to data from a survey published this year, stating that 43% of California high school students who are sexually active, admitted to not using a condom the last time they.

STDs are more common in youngsters between the ages 15 and 25, because many of those in this age group are reckless and do not carefully consider the potential risks of their actions. However, the CDC report found that those between the ages of 15 and 24 account for more than 605 of chlamydia diagnoses and half of gonorrhea diagnoses,

RISKS

Most sexually transmitted diseases have no symptoms and therefore pose a serious risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, blindness or stroke, according to health experts. STD cases costs the U.S. health care system about $16 billion each year, according to the report.

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• Date
  25th October 2016