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State gonorrhea diagnoses so far this year are already up 60 percent over the five-year median, according to the South Dakota Department of Health. Chlamydia reports this year also are up 18 percent over the five-year median. Last year, South Dakota recorded 3,200 chlamydia cases, with females accounting for 72 percent. The vast majority of cases were in patients ages 15-24. Females comprised 62 percent of gonorrhea reports, and most patients were ages 15-24. Last year’s 35 new HIV cases were above the five-year median of 25.
The 15- to 24-year-old age group tends to be more experimental with sexual activity, while older adults tend to be married or in monogamous partnerships, said Lon Kightlinger, state epidemiologist with the department.
Of chlamydia reports in 2008, 49 percent were white patients and 43 percent were American Indians, though the state population is 86 percent white and 9 percent American Indian.
Of the 400 people currently living with HIV/AIDS in South Dakota, 56 percent are white and 15 percent are American Indian. Twenty-four percent of those with HIV/AIDS are black, though African Americans represent just over 1 percent of the population. Seventy-one percent of state HIV/AIDS cases are male. Officials estimate 37 percent of total state HIV cases were acquired through male-to-male sex, 27 percent heterosexually, and 14 percent each from injection drug use and unspecified modes.
In addition to endorsing consistent and correct condom use, and treatment for infected persons and their partners, Kightlinger added, “The best protection is free. The best prevention is abstinence or a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship.”
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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