STD rates are still a concern in Alaska

 

While individuals who live in any part of the U.S. are at risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), people who live in certain states may have a greater chance of ending up with one than others. For example, KTOO News, an Alaskan news source, recently published an article explaining that while Alaska has improved STD rates, they are still higher than the national average.

According to the information provider, Alaska had the highest chlamydia infection rates in the U.S. in 2010 and 2011. Furthermore, the state has consistently had the first or second highest rate of this STDs since 2000. In 2011, there were more than 5,000 cases of chlamydia in Alaska, 84 percent of which were found in people under 30.

This figure makes sense, considering that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 account for nearly half of all new STD cases in the U.S. each year.

However, despite the fact that Alaska still has some of the highest STD rates in the nation, these numbers are a 5 percent decrease from 2010 and the largest annual decrease ever recorded for Alaska. The state saw a similar decrease in gonorrhea cases.

"Alaska saw an outbreak of gonorrhea in 2008 which peaked in 2010 and declined last year with 993 cases reported. While Alaska still has rates higher than the national average, it was a 22 percent drop in cases between 2010 and 2011," according to the news source.

Alaska may have high STD rates because more residents have been visiting STD testing centers in Alaska. A 2011 article published in Reuters stated that infections rates in Alaska are particularly high among Alaskan natives, suggesting that this population should be targeted in STD awareness campaigns.