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STD rates continue to rise

The Record-Eagle - 4/16/2019

April 16-- Apr. 16--TRAVERSE CITY -- Think back to eighth-grade health class -- there probably were a lot of groans, grimaces and even some snickering when the time came to talk about sex.

Within that module no doubt was a lesson on sexually transmitted diseases. Information about STDs is more important than ever for that age group. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 15- to 24-year-olds account for half of the 20 million new STDs in the U.S. each year.

Common STDs include chlamydia, HPV (human papillomavirus), gonorrhea, genital herpes, HIV and syphilis.

"Statistics show that one in two sexually active young people will get an STD by age 25 -- and most won't know it because a lot of these diseases might not have symptoms that go along with it," said Erin Johnson, a public health nurse with the Grand Traverse County Health Department.

HPV by far is the most common STD, accounting for about 14 million of all new cases -- 49 percent of which are in those aged 15 to 25, according to the CDC. It's so common that an unvaccinated, sexually active individual almost is guaranteed to get at least one HPV infection in their lifetime, the CDC reported.

Chlamydia is a distant second -- relatively speaking -- with 2.9 million new cases each year, followed by gonorrhea with 820,000 new cases. About 63 percent and 70 percent, respectively, of those cases involve young people, according to the CDC.

The CDC reported 2017 as the fourth consecutive year of sharp increases in STD rates, particularly with chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis.

But the rates for those three diseases have stayed fairly level in the Grand Traverse area for the last few years, according to communicable disease reports from area health departments.

In 2018, Grand Traverse County had 273 cases of chlamydia, 39 cases of gonorrhea and 2 cases of syphilis. Benzie and Leelanau counties -- which share a health department -- last year had 81 chlamydia cases, seven gonorrhea cases and 2 syphilis cases.

Kalkaska County had 41 chlamydia cases and four gonorrhea cases -- syphilis rates weren't available. In the Health Department of Northwest Michigan -- which includes Antrim, Emmet, Charlevoix and Otsego counties -- there were 213 chlamydia cases, 20 gonorrhea cases and five syphilis cases in 2018.

The best way to protect yourself is to make sure you and any partners are tested, and to use a condom until sure all are infection-free, said Michelle Klein, director of personal health at the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department.

People don't always think of a condom as a way to protect against STDs in addition to being a method of pregnancy prevention, Klein said.

Screening mostly is recommended for women -- even though men usually transfer STDs -- since the majority of the health problems are of more concern for women, said Dr. Kelly Clark, a physician at Munson Family Practice.

Some STDs -- like chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis -- easily can be treated with antibiotics, Johnson said. Others, such as HIV, will require lifetime maintenance to help with symptoms and preventing transmission, she said.

It's when those easily treatable diseases aren't treated that larger problems can arise, said Clark.

Chlamydia and gonorrhea can lead to things like pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility -- for both males and females -- ectopic pregnancy and chronic pain, she said. Syphilis, if left untreated long enough, can affect the nervous system, Clark added.

All three can affect pregnancies -- syphilis can cause congenital defects -- and the baby could become infected, Clark said.

"I think it's important for people to know that they didn't give this (an STD) to themselves," said Clark. "There was an infection before it came to you -- somebody gave this to you.

"If we just test people when they're at risk, we stop that chain," she added.

Where to get tested

Many health departments offer free, confidential screening for STDs.

Grand Traverse Health Department: 231-995-6113

Health Department of Northwest Michigan: 1-800-432-4121

District Health Department #10: 1-888-217-3904, option No. 2

Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department: 231-256-0200

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