STDs on the rise in Minnesota - Minnesota Public Radio News
STDs on the rise in Minnesota - Minnesota Public Radio News |
- STDs on the rise in Minnesota - Minnesota Public Radio News
- Toddler tests positive for STD after possible rape, police say - Boston 25 News
- Blue Earth County’s STD rate continues rise - Mankato Free Press
- Should you get tested for STDs? North Dakota health department... - Grand Forks Herald
| STDs on the rise in Minnesota - Minnesota Public Radio News Posted: 30 Apr 2019 01:37 PM PDT New cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis increased 3 percent from 2017 to 2018, according to information released by the Minnesota state epidemiologist. Dr. Ruth Lynfield said she and her colleagues are particularly concerned about a dramatic spike of 10 babies being born with syphilis in the state last year.  "Ten cases may not sound a lot to people, but for many, many years we had zero or one case," Lynfield said. "And in fact in 2015, when we had two cases, we were so concerned about it we made the recommendation women be screened multiple times during pregnancy." • In 2018: Minnesota STD cases hit record high number |
| Toddler tests positive for STD after possible rape, police say - Boston 25 News Posted: 30 Apr 2019 12:41 AM PDT  A toddler tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease after doctors found evidence that she had been raped, police said. Kansas City, Kansas, police Chief Terry Zeigler tweeted Saturday that the victim's mother recently left her children "at home with a friend of the family." She later discovered that her 2-year-old daughter had been injured.
The woman reportedly brought the girl to nearby Children's Mercy Hospital. There, doctors "confirmed there was evidence of rape" and determined that the girl had an STD, Zeigler wrote. No further information was immediately available. © 2019 Cox Media Group.  |
| Blue Earth County’s STD rate continues rise - Mankato Free Press Posted: 30 Apr 2019 04:00 PM PDT  MANKATO — Blue Earth County's chlamydia rate in 2018 was the second highest in the state, continuing a four-year rise in cases for the sexually transmitted disease. The county had 455 chlamydia cases last year, equaling 711 per 100,000 residents, according to the Minnesota Department of Health's annual STD surveillance report. Since 2015, the county has had a 50 percent increase in total chlamydia cases. Chlamydia is the top reported infectious disease in the state, increasing by 2% last year with 23,564 cases statewide. Minnesotans between ages 15-34 accounted for 83 percent of all the chlamydia cases. A 2015 report by the Minnesota State Demographic Center found Blue Earth County had by far the most 18- to 34-year-olds per capita of any county in the state, a likely contributor to the the high local rate. One of the leading STD test providers, the Planned Parenthood health center in Mankato, distributed 7,723 STD tests last year. Shannon Bakshian, Planned Parenthood's senior director of health care practice and clinical operations, said the rise in STDs could be a result of people feeling more comfortable to seek testing than they would in the past. "It's kind of a taboo topic among our population, and it's been a longstanding issue we're trying to work through for education," she said. Negative tests aren't tracked like positive ones are, making it hard to confirm how many more people are seeking testing than in the past. Bakshian said further normalizing testing as part of someone's ongoing health care could help reverse the rising rates. "Any efforts we can to reduce the stigma associated with STDs in general will help more people get in to be tested and start see those rates come down," she said. Christine Jones, the state health department's STD section manager, said in a release that testing helps people avoid serious health problems associated with undetected STDs. "Many of these infections have no immediate symptoms," Jones said. "The only way to know for sure is to get tested." Gonorrhea was again the second most commonly reported STD in 2018 statewide, resulting in 7,542 cases. Blue Earth County's cases spiked from 33 to 54 between 2017 and 2018, but the rate wasn't among the top 10 counties in the state. Syphilis was the only STD to decline in Minnesota in 2018, although cases of congenital cases in infants jumped from two to 10, making for the highest rate the state has ever reported. Blue Earth County's chlamydia rate, lower than only Mahnomen County, was an outlier among its south-central Minnesota peers. Watonwan County had the next highest rate at 357 per 100,000, ranking 21st. Nicollet County, which also has high numbers of 18- to 34-year olds, ranked 30th with 306 cases per 100,000. Brown County had the lowest chlamydia rate, ranking 53rd. There are 87 counties in the state.  |
| Should you get tested for STDs? North Dakota health department... - Grand Forks Herald Posted: 29 Apr 2019 12:08 PM PDT  The state Department of Health announced Monday, April 29, that people can access the Know Your Risk website at www.ndhealth.gov/hiv/knowyourrisk. The site offers a survey to help users assess their need for STD testing, according to a news release. "The first step in STD prevention is understanding your risk and being tested when it's recommended," said Shari Renton, surveillance coordinator for the HIV.STD.Viral Hepatitis Program. "Individuals should use the recommendations as a conversation starter with their health care provider to discuss risk and potential STD screening." The website asks up to 10 questions to assess whether a person should be tested. It also identifies risky behaviors and how they can be addressed to reduce the risk of acquiring an STD. The website is anonymous and doesn't collect identifying information, officials said. The survey doesn't ask if a person is married, single or dating. Marriage doesn't necessarily equate to no risk of acquiring an STD, Renton said. "Being married doesn't limit your risk of getting STDs," she said. "You might believe you are in a monogamous relationship, but your partner might not be." A person who has not been tested before they are married could present issues, she noted. The survey also asks what social media and apps people use to find sexual partners, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tinder and Bumble. Several types of STDs have been on the rise in North Dakota in recent years. The state tallied 3,528 cases of chlamydia last year, up 8 percent from 2017 and the highest number so far this decade, according to the Health Department. Gonorrhea cases rose 42 percent to 1,371 reports, about five times the amount reported in 2011, the department said. The number of people living with HIV and AIDS has stayed relatively steady in the 2010s. Though the number of new diagnoses has increased from 11 in 2011 to almost 39 in 2018, with a peak of 50 new diagnoses reported in 2016, according to the department. For more information, call Renton at 701-328-1059, or visit www.cdc.gov/STD to learn more about testing and treatments.  |
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