Salina County health officials warn residents about increase in STD cases

Some people may not realize how common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are. In a recent article published by the Salina Journal, health officials from the Kansas county recently discussed the area's STD trends and what types of behaviors contribute to the uptick in diagnoses of these diseases.

According to the newspaper, there were 24 more cases of chlamydia diagnosed among Salina residents during 2010 than the previous year. Furthermore, there was an 80 percent increase in gonorrhea reports between 2008 and 2009, but this number has gone down slightly since that time.

The health officials told the news provider that one reason for the high prevalence of STDs in Salina may be that there are four colleges located within the area, and young adults account for a significant proportion of new STD infections.

"They end up having a lot of sexual partners, and every time they have sex with somebody, they are kind of sharing germs with everybody that person has had sex with," said Del Myers, health education supervisor for the Salina-Saline County Health Department, quoted by the news source.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that sexually active individuals get tested for STDs at least once every six months.