According to the Lake County News, chlamydia infection rates rose by 52 percent during 2012, a staggering number for such a small community.

“We have seen a real increase in several sexually transmitted diseases and it’s really quite alarming to me,” Dr. Karen Tait, a Lake County Public Health Officer, explained to the source. “It’s part of a bigger trend, it’s not just in Lake County.”

Syphilis has also become a problem in the area since 2009, jumping from about 13 cases a year from 2004 to 2008 to 37 cases the following year. Tait warned that it was the first time in her career as a physician that she has seen such a resurgence in syphilis in a younger demographic.

In addition to Lake County, the Golden State has been struggling with a rise in STD cases. According to the California Department of Public Health, the rates of infections for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis all increased from 2010 to 2011. Infection averages were “extraordinarily high” for African-Americans, putting them at the top of the at-risk groups in California.

However, there was also a growing number of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 – especially women - who were grappling with STDs. In fact, the most preventable cause of infertility in California happens as a result of gonorrhea and chlamydia.

Although state data for STD surveillance in 2012 has not yet been released, things are not looking promising for the Golden State, according to Heidi Bauer, MD, chief of the STD control branch at the CDPH.

“My impression is that most things are increasing,” Bauer explained to Lake County News.

According to The Washington Times, William Smith, executive director of the National Coalition for STD Directors, attended two congressional briefings to ask lawmakers to extend more than$53 million in federal funding to help stop this possible public health risk.

“Experts agree that it’s not a matter of if gonorrhea-resistance will not, it’s a matter of when it will hit,” Smith explained to the Times.

The sexually transmitted disease (STD) became curable in the 1940s after the discovery of penicillin and other strong antibiotics. However, like any other life form, the bacteria that causes gonorrhea has changed over time. Because it constantly mutates and adapts to its environment, the need for new and better medicine is important.

This January, health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that drugs previously used to stop the spread of gonorrhea were no longer effective in treating the disease. Gonorrhea is the second-most commonly reported STD in the United States behind chlamydia, and having no treatment could pose major health concerns for U.S. citizens.

The CDC also noted that gonorrhea is asymptomatic, so it is possible to continue to spread the disease without even knowing it. This is why the need for adequate STD testing and prevention is so crucial for keeping sexual health in balance.

Until scientists come up with new pharmaceuticals to treat gonorrhea, lawmakers and health officials will need to urge better prevention measures to combat this bacteria. However, frequent STD testing and practicing safer sex can help stop the spread of infection, and are things that you will need to do for your sexual health, especially if you have active partners.

Protecting yourself by getting tested is one of the best ways to ensure overall health, especially since you may not know you have an STD. Dr. Robin Geller, a local infectious disease specialist, explained that many people can unknowingly carry and spread chlamydia to others.

“Since oftentimes STDs have no symptoms, folks who are sexually active, particularly with more than one partner, should see a physician or a clinic and just get a routine checkup,” Geller explained to the source.

The Illinois county had 179 cases of chlamydia in 2011, so many health officials were surprised to see that the number rose to 194 in 2012, which is a large spike for such a small county. According to the source, STDs have become a growing problem in Illinois, causing the state to be ranked 10th and 11th, respectively, for gonorrhea and chlamydia prevalence. This has been a startling trend in the past five years especially. What’s even more shocking is the fact that a vast majority of these infections are diagnosed in citizens between the ages of 15 and 24.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chlamydia is the most commonly reported STD in the United States, so Stephenson County is not alone when it comes to this growing problem. Once detected, chlamydia is easy to cure. However, many people do not have symptoms at first, so it’s important to get tested for these diseases with every new sexual partner.

Cindy Morgan, a nurse who specializes in disease with Lane County Public Health, explained to Eugene CBS affiliate KVAL that when rates spike at such a high levels like this, it’s usually due to a population increase. However, that’s not the case with this sexually transmitted disease (STD). In addition to the explosion of gonorrheal infections in the county, Eugene has also experienced a low number of immunizations and an increase in smoking, so the overall health of the area is in decline.

County officials believe that much of this problem is due to a lack of funding for preventative measures and programs. The taxes to fund public health initiatives in Lane County have shrunk dramatically over the years, and many people in the city want to see that changed. Trillium, a private insurance company that has taken over the administration for Oregon Health Plan participants, agrees.

“For every dollar invested in prevention, you save three dollars in health care costs in the future health of that patient,” Holly Hodges, a private insurance specialist with Trillium, explained to KVAL.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gonorrhea is a very common STD in the United States. In fact, 321,849 infections were reported to the organization in 2011. However, less than half of gonorrheal infections in the United States are reported to the CDC, so that number is likely much higher. The CDC estimates that the number is actually around 820,000, and that young people ages 15 to 24 make up more than half of those infected.

Since these numbers are climbing and symptoms can be undetectable for prolonged periods of time, it’s important to get an STD test after every sexual encounter you have with a new partner.

The NIH hopes that the funding will help create future strategies to reduce the prevalence of the disease in a culturally appropriate and effective manner. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, AAPCHO was given the award to prepare the AAPI population for viral hepatitis testing, care and treatment.

In collaboration with the University of Washington, the International Community Health Services in Seattle, the Virginia Mason Medical Center and the Hepatitis B Coalition of Washington, research will be conducted that specifically aims to bring down the disproportionate number of AAPI individuals living with hepatitis B in the United States. The organization hopes that their prevention efforts and endeavors to drive these numbers down will eventually increase the health and wellness of the AAPI population.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one in 12 people in the AAPI population is currently living with hepatitis B, but many are unaware they are carrying the infection. Liver cancer that develops as a result of hepatitis B is also the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among this demographic.

The CDC agrees that getting tested for hepatitis B can greatly reduce the spread of infection with the AAPI population. Early treatment for the disease can also prevent liver cancer from becoming a health concern.

This is a major public health concern for a variety of reasons, most notably that the infection can spread with resistance to penicillin and other antibiotics. Secondly, gonorrhea is currently the second-most reported sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the United States, making the spread of this “super strain” a likely possibility. Thirdly, most cases of gonorrhea are asymptomatic – so many of the people who are infected may be spreading the disease without their knowledge. If not treated, gonorrhea can pose serious health risks, including easier transmission for HIV and infertility in both sexes, and pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy in women, according to Medscape.

The CDC is urging primary prevention in high-risk areas, including screening and partner services. They have also updated their treatment options for the super strain with injections and oral doses of doxycycline for a week-long period, including a follow-up.

Super strains of STDs are not uncommon in the United States. In the 1940s, resistance to sulfonamides for gonorrhea was widespread, eventually leading to the drug becoming discontinued. Drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea also occurred in the 1980s. According to the source, the number of patients treated for the current super strain of gonorrhea continues to grow.

No matter how these diseases evolve over time, it’s important to make sure that you and your partners are routinely tested for STDs to slow the growth of this infection. By practicing safer sex and making sure you are disease-free, you can better the public’s health as well as your own.

After penicillin was patented and introduced for mass production into the medical community in 1941, it drove down the cases of reported syphilis dramatically. Since many soldiers in the South Pacific and Europe came home with the disease, this treatment could have allowed many men who could not otherwise perform healthfully to have a healthy sex life down the road.

The military wanted soldiers to enter the frontlines disease-free, so widespread use of penicillin as an antibiotic reduced the cases of syphilis dramatically in a remarkably short amount of time. In fact, syphilis reached its peak in 1939, killing around 20,000 people. From 1947 to 1957, the syphilis death rate fell by 75 percent, and the incidence rate dropped by a staggering 95 percent. This has led many researchers to believe this medicine gave rise to the subsequent baby boom in the 1950s and the permissive sexual attitudes that were prevalent in the 1960s.

“As soon as syphilis bottoms out, in the mid- to late-1950s, you start to see dramatic increases in all three measures of risky sexual behavior,” Andrew Francis, an associate professor at Emory University, told Psych Central. He explained that these three measures included illegitimate birth ratio, teen birth share and the incidence of gonorrhea – a highly contagious STD that is known to spread quickly.

Although treatments have improved dramatically for all kinds of STDs over the years, there is still no cure-all for the transmission of these diseases. The only way to know you are not infected with a STD is to practice safer sex and get tested before new sexual partners.

What is alarming about the U.S. News & Report coverage is the stock photo chosen to represent the contemporary antibiotic resistant gonorrhea. It is the silhouette of a fully-figured woman holding a red bra in a room that is grimy and dirty. In short, the image is scandalous and reminiscent of the WWII venereal disease advertisements that allude the spread of STIs are largely transmitted by “loose” women. The image may also be a trigger for sex workers or trafficked persons.

What Americans really need to know about gonorrhea is this (courtesy the CDC):

Anyone who is sexually active can get gonorrhea.

• “If they occur, symptoms in men and women vary depending on what part of the body is infected: Gonorrhea can affect the anus, eyes, mouth, genitals, or throat.
• This disease can impact a woman’s ability to have children if left untreated.”

Gonorrhea, if left untreated, has the potential to lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in women, which can lead to ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, infertility or chronic pelvic pain.  In men, gonorrhea infections can lead to epididymitis, a painful disease that affects the tubes in the testicles and can also impact ability to have children. In both men and women, untreated gonorrhea can occasionally spread, with serious consequences.

If you are sexually active, be sure to test for STI’s (STD’s) regularly (after or with each new partner – it’s fun to get tested together!), practice safer sex (condoms are effective against gonorrhea transmission), and to always communicate your status to your partner(s). Regular testing and early diagnosis are effective measures in halting the spread of any sexually transmitted infections.

STDTestExpress.com offers an 8 Test Panel. Other places for routine testing in the Chicago area include: Planned Parenthood, Chicago Women’s Health Center, Howard Brown Health Center, Broadway Youth Center, and the City of Chicago Free STI Specialty Clinics.

She added that the lessons are meant to be co-ed, and will be age-appropriate. Some parents groups have spoken out against the new curriculum, stating that it is too graphic and they are uncomfortable with some of the topics being discussed.
These parents have the option of writing a letter to their child’s principal stating that they do not want their son or daughter to learn about STDs or birth control, but they must specify that they are planning on educating the child about these matters at home. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, effective STD prevention requires changing the behaviors that put people at risk for infection. This is why effective education and awareness programs are needed that explain exactly how STDs are spread, and what factors put a person at risk. The Times cited two important things that these new classes might teach. The first is that it is possible to get pregnant the first time a person has sex, and the second is that practicing safer sex by using a latex condom greatly reduces a person’s risk of contracting HIV.