Oklahoma Department of Health encourages sex education to combat teen STD prevalence

Similar to nationwide statistics, adolescents account for nearly half of new sexually transmitted disease (STD) diagnoses in the state of Oklahoma, according to the Tulsa World. Members of the state Department of Health recently told the newspaper that they recommend parents not only encourage their kids to abstain for sex, but also discuss the dangers of intercourse if the teens should choose to engage in act.

Dannette McIntosh, executive director of Health Outreach Prevention and Education in Tulsa, told the news provider that parents should begin sex-based education with their kids early in life and regularly expand on and reinforce this information throughout later years.

"It starts when they're young and just continues to grow," she explained to the news source.

The article noted that recent data show about 5,000 Oklahomans are diagnosed with chlamydia each year, along with more than 4,500 who have cases of gonorrhea and 260 with reported syphilis infections.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 19 million new STD cases are reported annually in the U.S. The organization states that 46 percent of American high school students are sexually active.