STDs on the rise: New Mexico ranked fourth for chlamydia - Ruidoso News

STDs on the rise: New Mexico ranked fourth for chlamydia - Ruidoso News
Study: no link between “extreme” personal grooming, STDs - The Ohio State University News
Denver woman mistakenly receives samples from Utah STD test in mail - KSL.com
A third of Americans think you can get an STD from toilet seats - New York Post

Posted: 05 Sep 2019 12:00 AM PDT

As sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise, a dubious claim to fame for New Mexico is announced by Health Testing Centers. The state ranked fourth for most chlamydia cases in America with 651.6 cases per 100,000 people.

The national average is 528.8 cases. Alaska ranked first in number of cases, followed by Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and South Carolina.

Fortunately, New Mexico failed to make the list of the top five for any other category, including the overall increase in sexually transmitted diseases (STD).

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Health Testing Centers this week released the study "STDs On the Rise in America," using the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea through the end of 2017.

Study results

Nationally, STD cases jumped from 679,028 in 1941, the year testing began, to nearly 2.4 million, according to the study. Gonorrhea saw the most dramatic increase at 18.6 percent, syphilis cases increased by 15.3 percent and chlamydia, by 6.9 percent.

"Despite the various preventative health care measures available, Americans are only using preventative services at about half the recommended rate," Health Testing Centers staff wrote.

Infections and diseases contracted through sexual activity are highly preventable. Still, STD rates continue to hit record highs. The latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proved 2017 to be the year with the most reported STD cases to date.

States with most cases of chlamydia

Alaska
Louisiana
Mississippi
New Mexico
South Carolina

"We analyzed the CDC's 2017 STD Surveillance Report to see which states and demographics are most affected by the rising rates, how have STD rates changed in specific populations over time and what might be contributing to such changes."

When the CDC began collecting data on sexually transmitted diseases in 1941, there were 679,028 reported cases of syphilis and gonorrhea, with syphilis being over twice as prevalent, the study stated. Today, the total number of reported cases includes chlamydia and has reached a high of almost 2.4 million. However, chlamydia is now the most prevalent and has increased the most dramatically since the beginning of the data collection, the study stated.

Between 1941 and 1945, rates of syphilis peaked and then steadily declined, likely due to the emergence of penicillin as a treatment, the staff wrote. While curing syphilis involves antibiotic treatment, permanent damage can occur, if the treatment is not prompt. Even with adequate measures to treat and cure the infection, cases of syphilis in all stages increased by 15.3 percent from 2016 to 2017.

More: Study: NM 38th in per capita spending on prescription drugs

Chlamydia had the most dramatic increase since the 1980s, soaring from only 7,594 cases to over 1.7 million in 2017. From 2016 to 2017, chlamydia cases increased by about 7 percent, according to the study.

Resistant to antibiotics

"STDs may affect a great deal of the population, but stigmas about these infections are still present," ssthe staff wrote. "Contracting STDs is often associated with promiscuity, but it simply doesn't hold. If that were the case, rising rates of STDs would correlate with a rise in sexual activity. However, Americans of all ages have been having less sex over the last 20 years."

In 2017, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine had the lowest rates of gonorrhea. On the upper end of the scale, Mississippi had the most cases in 2017, with about 310 cases per 100,000 residents. Alaska wasn't too far behind with 295 cases, putting it among the top states for high rates of both chlamydia and gonorrhea.

Studies have shown gonorrhea is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, making treatment extremely difficult.

All three STDs were most prevalent among 15- to 29-year-old men and women.

More: Study: NM ranks 15th for a summer of fun

In 2016, record highs were made for reported cases of STDs, but when data from 2017 became available, those record highs were replaced. In just a year, Connecticut and New Hampshire both saw a 27 percent increase in chlamydia from 2016 to 2017. Rates in West Virginia and North Dakota decreased.

Prevention

"With STD rates setting record highs and showing no sign of slowing down, it is up to the American public to take precautions regarding their sexual activity," the authors wrote.

"While some STDs and STIs are treatable, many go unnoticed due to a lack of symptoms. That's why getting tested for STDs is vital to the health and safety of you and your partners, even if precautions are taken and protection is used."

More: Study: Three New Mexico towns among 50 most expensive to live in U.S.

While access to testing can be difficult and expensive, Health Testing Centers staff noted that various STD packages can be ordered from HTC, "without breaking the bank."

For more details about the states with the highest and lowest number of cases for each of the STDs, and the methodology used for the study, check out https://www.healthtestingcenters.com/research-guides/stds-america/.

Reporter Dianne Stallings can be contacted at dstallings@ruidosonews.com

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Study: no link between “extreme” personal grooming, STDs - The Ohio State University News

Posted: 04 Sep 2019 12:00 AM PDT

Women who choose to shave or wax their pubic hair might not be raising their risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) after all, according to a new study that found no connection between "extreme" grooming and chlamydia or gonorrhea.

Previous research and many media reports have warned women about a connection between pubic hair removal and STDs – but researchers at The Ohio State University wondered how strong that connection was, if it existed at all.

So they devised a study that, unlike previous work in this area, relied on laboratory-confirmed diagnoses of two common STDs. The study included 214 college students, all women.

The researchers examined any possible links between "extreme" grooming – removal of all pubic hair at least weekly in the past year, or at least six times in the past month – and testing positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea. They found no connection. The study appears today (Sept. 4, 2019) in the journal PLOS ONE.

Jamie Luster, the study's lead author and a former graduate student in public health at Ohio State, said she wasn't terribly surprised to find no connection in this study – primarily because there's no clear biological reason to believe that shaving or waxing would lead to increased risk of these common STDs.

The women in the study, who visited an on-campus location at Ohio State for STD testing, completed a questionnaire that asked about their sexual and grooming behaviors. Almost all (98 percent) of the study participants said they had done some grooming, and between 18 and 54 percent were "extreme" groomers, based on the two measures used in the study.

The participants also agreed to allow the researchers to receive the results of their STD tests. About 10 percent of the women had a positive test.

Though this study was small, it's important for women to know that the research in this area is not conclusive, despite what they might see in an internet search on the topic or hear from friends, said Luster, who is now a researcher at the University of Michigan.

The new study highlights the importance of taking actions that are known to reduce the risk of STDs, said Luster and her adviser on the work, Ohio State associate professor of epidemiology Maria Gallo.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about 2.86 million new chlamydia infections and 820,000 new gonorrhea infections occur in the U.S. each year, many in teens and young adults. The agency's prevention recommendations for sexually active people include staying in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with an STD-free partner and using latex condoms consistently and properly.

Denver woman mistakenly receives samples from Utah STD test in mail - KSL.com

Posted: 25 Sep 2019 11:22 AM PDT

SALT LAKE CITY — When Tanya Delfin of Denver opened the cardboard box from St. George crafts store Wood Creations Dixie last Wednesday, she found the raw wood cutout she had ordered the week before.

But she also saw something she didn't recognize — a large cylindrical container.

"I was like, 'Oh my gosh, Tanya, did you order something you didn't need?'" Delfin said.

She opened it and found a second cylinder, one that made it clear the container likely hadn't come from any craft store. It said "biohazard."

After looking at the enclosed documents, Delfin realized she was in possession of someone's test for sexually transmitted diseases. "And we immediately were like, 'OK, don't touch anything,'" she said.

The tests, Delfin discovered, were taken in Moab and were supposed to be bound for a Salt Lake County laboratory operated by the Utah Department of Health. Delfin reached out to both Wood Creations and the Health Department, and neither was sure how the mixup could have occurred.

"Utah Public Health asked me, 'Does it still have postage on it?' I was like, 'Yeah.' And she's like, 'Well, just drop it in the mail and hopefully we'll get it,'" Delfin said. She added some tape and put the tests back in the mail on Wednesday.

Delfin said she was concerned not only about the mixup, but what she said appeared to be a poorly sealed container.

"We could have contaminated those," Delfin said, "and it could have been something so much more serious. They could have been harmful to anyone who got that package."

Utah Department of Health spokesman Tom Hudachko said that based on photographs Delfin shared of the container, it appeared that whoever sent them followed the "usual protocol."

"These containers are designed specifically to be shipped, so the possibility of contamination is low," Hudachko said. "Also, the actual samples are in individual sealed containers within the shipping container.

"The lab figures it was probably an innocent mix-up at the post office."

According to package tracking information, the box left St. George on Sept. 16 and arrived at a package sorting facility in Salt Lake City the same day. U.S. Postal Service spokesman Brian Sperry said it appears the package "may have broken open in processing in Salt Lake City" and that "a well-meaning employee mistakenly included the nearby lab container thinking it came from the same box and retaped it."

"While we may never know exactly what happened with the package, we are reaching out to the customers involved to apologize, and we are addressing it with our employees," Sperry said.

Delfin said the box she received did appear "beat up," and possibly retaped.

She hopes the post office and Health Department can review their procedures to better protect patients' personal information and public health.

Photos

Graham Dudley

A third of Americans think you can get an STD from toilet seats - New York Post

Posted: 17 Sep 2019 12:00 AM PDT

A third of Americans incorrectly believe you can get a sexually-transmitted disease (STD) from a public toilet seat, according to new research.

A survey of 2,000 sexually-active Americans examined respondents' sexual health knowledge and found the majority need a crash course on the topic of sexual health.

When asked about the ways people can contract an STD, a fifth (22 percent) mistakenly believed incidental physical contact was enough, while 24 percent erroneously thought you could get an STD from sharing a glass of water with someone who's infected.

SWNS Research: 1/3 of Americans think you can get an STD from a toilet — SWNS

But that's not all respondents got wrong about STDs: They were also unable to identify the common diseases.

While 63 percent correctly identified gonorrhea as an STD, less than half recognized herpes (48 percent) or chlamydia (42 percent).

Twenty-eight percent identified "claphytis" as an STD, while 21 percent did the same for "strenedia" – when in actuality, both are made-up words.

Commissioned by LetsGetChecked and conducted by OnePoll for Sexual Health Awareness Month, the survey found that 81 percent of respondents believed themselves to be knowledgeable about sexual health, but the results weren't there to back them up.

Some of this misinformation might be the result of a lack of sexual education in school: Only half (52 percent) of respondents remember receiving sex ed – but of those, 53 percent say it was "abstinence-only."

A quarter (26 percent) incorrectly thought two condoms provide double the protection from STDs, while 36 percent wrongly believed wearing a condom protects against all STDs.

A fifth (21 percent) of respondents mistakenly thought you could tell if someone had an STD just by looking at them and three in 10 incorrectly believed they don't need to be tested for STDs unless they have symptoms.

"Taking responsibility for your sexual health is so important, not just for you, but for your partner(s)," said Chief Medical Officer of LetsGetChecked, Dr. Robert Mordkin.

"Better education is needed around STDs and the serious, long-term consequences that may occur if they are left untreated. In the absence of sufficient sex education, people need to work to educate themselves and attend regular sexual health screenings."

This lack of knowledge has serious consequences, since Americans aren't taking the proper steps to ensure they're having safe sex.

Of those who aren't in a committed relationship, 24 percent "rarely" or "never" speak to a new partner about their STD status or the last time they were tested before having sex for the first time.

For those who aren't likely to speak to a new partner about STDs, the top reason was because it can be uncomfortable to bring up (43 percent), while others worry about "ruining the mood" (34 percent).

Forty-eight percent of respondents don't know how often they should be tested for an STD – and a fifth (19 percent) say they've never been tested.

For those who haven't been tested in the last year (53 percent), 23 percent said they're uncomfortable being tested, and 24 percent worried about what the results might show.

"The increasing epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S. and further afield highlights the need for more screening," continued Dr. Robert Mordkin. "That's where we come in, with LetsGetChecked, people have the ability to test their sexual health status from home. We are passionate about making screening more accessible to our customers."

Luckily, there are a variety of things respondents say would make them feel more comfortable when being tested. This includes having health care professionals available to help them understand the results (55 percent) and explain treatment options (48 percent), as well as being tested in their own home (52 percent).

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STDs on the rise: New Mexico ranked fourth for chlamydia - Ruidoso News