Chlamydia rates on the rise in one Washington county

 

When sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates go up in certain areas, it's important for health officials to determine why. Recently, KIMA TV, a Washington CBS affiliate, reported that chlamydia rates are up in Yakima County, Washington. This is concerning, considering that just a few months ago health officials reported that number of people with gonorrhea had risen in the area.

According to the news source, two years ago, Yakima County had the second highest chlamydia rate throughout Washington with about 464 cases for every 100,000 people. Now, reports show that this number continues to climb. There were more than 1,200 cases last year, and numbers from the first six months of 2012 show that chlamydia rates are already on pace to surpass that.

Health officials in the area told the information provider that it's important to encourage individuals to visit STD testing centers in Washington. The problem, they said, is that many people do not go to get tested because they think nothing is wrong. Unfortunately, the number one symptom of most STDs is no symptom at all, and people can transmit an infection without ever even knowing that they have one.

"A lot of them do not have any symptoms but can be causing internal damage that you're not aware of and the treatments for most of them are actually fairly simple," said Yakima Health District nurse David Miller, according to the news source.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chlamydia is the most common STD in the U.S. The organization adds that even though the symptoms of this disease can be mild or absent, serious complications can occur if a person does not get treatment for this infection.