Sharp rise in rates of Sexually Transmitted Disease in Orange County

Sharp rise in rates of Sexually Transmitted Disease in Orange County

STD cases in Orange County show a sharp increase

By: Grant Huttar

                  Sexually transmitted diseases or STD’s are a class of diseases that are primary acquired during sexual intercourse, some of the most common of these being syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. In recent years, there has been an unprecedented rise in the number of cases of these STD’s in California. As the latest research shows some of the largest spikes have been in Orange County.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) shows a 386% increase in the documented cases of Syphilis in Orange County since 2011³. The CDPH also reported a 144% increase in Chlamydia² and a 239% increase of Gonorrhea¹ in a similar timeframe. This begs the question of why such a sharp increase over the past few years. Many attribute this to the lowering concern for using prophylaxis or other forms of safe sex, while others speculate the public having less interest in frequent testing for these infectious diseases.

Many of these diseases can have subtle to no signs or symptoms, so the best course of action for many would be health checks to determine status. The frequency of these health checks would be dependent on many factors but simply searching for Urgent Care or STD clinics are a quick and convenient way to get results and if necessary treatment.

References:

¹https://www.cdph.ca.gov/data/statistics/Documents/STD-Data-Gonorrhea-Tables.pdf

²https://www.cdph.ca.gov/data/statistics/Documents/STD-Data-Chlamydia-Tables.pdf

³https://www.cdph.ca.gov/data/statistics/Documents/STD-Data-Syphilis-AllStages-Tables.pdf