PUBLIC HEALTH & EDUCATION | CDC Reports Rise in STIs; Chlamydia Rates at All-time High
[Jan. 14, 2009]

Rates of chlamydia and syphilis in the U.S. increased in 2007, with chlamydia rates reaching a record high, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday in its annual sexually transmitted infection report, the Los Angeles Times reports. The rate of gonorrhea cases is similar to the rate in 2006. The report found that the total number of chlamydia infections was 1.1 million, the most since recordkeeping for the disease began and the highest number of infections for any STI that physicians are required to report. The incidence reached 370 cases per 100,000 people -- a 7.5% increase from 2006. Gonorrhea cases -- which peaked in the 1970s at one million and then declined until a few years ago -- remained flat at 119 cases per 100,000 people, making it the second most common STI reported by physicians. The syphilis rate continued to rise in 2007, as it has since 2000, with 3.8 cases per 100,000 people -- marking a 15% increase from 2006. In 2000, public health officials believed syphilis was close to elimination, but an increase in infections among gay and bisexual men reversed the downward trend, the Times reports.

The long-term effects of gonorrhea and chlamydia are especially damaging to women, CDC officials said. One consequence of untreated chlamydia or gonorrhea is pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to infertility or life-threatening ectopic pregnancy. John Douglas, director of CDC's Division of STI Prevention, said that both infections "lead to tremendous problems in our female population, with fertility leading the list" (Engel, Los Angeles Times, 1/14). According to Douglas, thousands of women become infertile each year because of untreated chlamydia and gonorrhea infections (Stobbe, AP/Cincinnati Inquirer, 1/14).

Douglas said that the increase in the number of chlamydia cases could be attributed in part to better detection and an increase in testing, especially among women. However, health officials believe that the reported number might not be the true number of infections -- which they predict could be closer to three million -- because so many infections still go undetected. Linda Niccolai, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health, said that undetected cases are particularly common among young men, who do not see a physician and continue to infect their partners without knowing their STI status (Los Angeles Times, 1/14).

STIs continue to disproportionately affect black men and women, the report showed. Blacks account for 12% of the U.S. population but 70% of the gonorrhea cases and nearly half of chlamydia and syphilis cases, according to CDC. CDC found that chlamydia and gonorrhea rates are the highest among black women ages 15 to 19, Reuters reports (Dunham, Reuters, 1/13).





The information contained in this publication reflects media coverage of women’s health issues and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

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