Private MD News

Communities see STD rates rise

Category: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Despite concerted efforts on the part of public health agencies across the U.S. to encourage STD testing and other forms of prevention, many communities continue to struggle with high rates of infections.

Take, for example, the Cincinnati area. Officials from Dayton and Montgomery Counties recently told the Ohio News Network that they have seen a dramatic increase new syphilis cases in recent years.

Bill Wharton, the spokesperson for the Dayton and Montgomery County Public Health Department, said that the problem started in the urban areas of Cincinnati and Columbus but has since spread to outlying suburban regions.

"Anytime you have a large metropolitan area with a lot of cases going around it’s going to ripple out to some surrounding areas. Our problem is not only Cincinnati, we also get cases from Columbus and other large areas," he told the news source.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that one of the best ways to prevent the spread of infections is for all sexually active individuals to seek STD testing. Despite this advice, rates of testing are relatively low.