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State STD statistics
reached an all-time high in 2011. The 19,547 recorded cases marked a 9 percent
increase over 2010’s 18,009 cases, according to a Minnesota Department of
Health (MDH) report released April 19.
New STD records have
been set for nine of the past 10 years, “an ongoing trend” that MDH official
Peter Carr attributes in part to increased chlamydia screening. “If you look
for more of it, you’ll find more of it,” he said.
“It’s also likely
that there’s more disease transmission and more chlamydia occurring in our
communities,” Carr continued. Chlamydia remained Minnesota’s top reported
infectious disease in 2011 with 16,898 cases; 15,509 cases were reported in
2010.
Furthermore, syphilis
cases of any stage climbed to 366 in 2011, and gonorrhea cases went up 6
percent to 2,283 cases. A separate MDH report will address HIV/AIDS later this
month.
“All these infections
are preventable,” said Carr, “by delaying the start of sexual activity,
limiting the number of sexual partners and practicing safer sex [such as]
correct and consistent condom use.”
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.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
