Private MD News

New report finds high chlamydia rates for Alaska

Category: Chlamydia

As some cities in the nation release figures showing their high HIV infection rates, Alaska brings what some have called a startling figure on chlamydia.

The "silent disease," as it is called because its symptoms can be so mild they are unnoticeable to the infected, reportedly ravaged the native Alaskan population from 2000 to 2007, a time period when the state had the first or second highest nationwide chlamydia infection rate, Juneau Empire reports.

The report also found the rate of the STD was six times higher for the native population of the state when compared to the whites.

Donna Cecere, STD program coordinator for the division of public health's section of epidemiology, told the news provider it wasn't odd for minority populations to have higher rates than whites.

"Addressing health disparities is rather complex, and it's important to keep in mind that Alaska is not alone or unique in having much higher STD rates among the Alaska Native or American Indian population," Cecere said. "All across the country, chlamydia case rates among whites are small in comparison to those of minority populations."