SAN ANTONIO – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia reached an all-time high in the U.S. in 2018, according to a recently released report.
The federal health agency released data in October on sexually transmitted disease rates and reported that rates continue to climb across the U.S.
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San Antonio had a total of 17,796 STD cases reported, including 12,986 chlamydia cases, 4,496 gonorrhea cases and 314 syphilis cases, according to an analysis of the CDC data from innerbody.com.
The health website also reported that the state of California ranked number one with the most cities in the Top 100 of the highest STD rates. However, tied for second was Ohio and Texas, both of which had six cities on the list each.
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In terms of total STD cases, including HIV, syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea, Houston came in third with 36,710 reported cases.
These other Texas cities ranked high in STD rates, according to the new report:
Killeen, TX:
- 1,644 per every 100K
- HIV cases: 52 Chlamydia: 4,190 Gonorrhea: 1,630 Syphilis: 26
Waco, TX:
- 1,196 per every 100K
- HIV cases: 35 Chlamydia: 2,125 Gonorrhea: 907 Syphilis: 12
Lubbock, TX:
- 1,129 per every 100K
- HIV cases: 35 Chlamydia: 2,429 Gonorrhea: 991 Syphilis: 51
Austin, TX:
- 1,006 per every 100K
- HIV cases: 221 Chlamydia: 8,946 Gonorrhea: 3,306 Syphilis: 310
Dallas, TX:
- 972 per every 100K
- HIV cases: 814 Chlamydia: 18,417 Gonorrhea: 6,800 Syphilis: 417
STDs can have severe impacts on your health. The CDC reports some STDs can even result in newborn deaths related to congenital syphilis, which went up to 22% from 2017 to 2018, from 77 to 94 deaths.The CDC urges all citizens to always get tested for STDs as it’s one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy.
“Make sure you have an open and honest conversation about your sexual history and STD testing with your doctor…” If you are uncomfortable talking with your doctor or just can’t find the time to go get tested, an increasingly popular option is to take an at-home STD test,” says the CDC.
For more information or to see the full report, click here.