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Increase in casual encounters, sexually transmitted diseases
Date: 2013-07-15 00:00:00

The rise in the availability of technology has made most things in life easier - including hooking up. According to CBS Sacramento, doctors are pointing to casual encounters enabled by online dating sites to a recent rise in sexually transmitted diseases.

"It's very alarming to us because we know there are some STDs that are curable, but there are other STDs that we can treat, but cannot cure," Paolo Cancio, an infectious disease specialist with the AIDS and STD prevention program CARES, told the news source

Cancio mentioned that while doctors are not sure what is causing the uptick, he has met with patients who hooked up with someone they met online and later required treatment for a sexually transmitted disease. CBS Sacramento noted that smartphone applications are enabling people to find people to hook up based on their neighborhood.

However, Cancio and his team have launched an app of their own - one to help smartphone users find free condom dispensers set up by CARES. The dispensers are conveniently located at nearby businesses, and the app, Condom Finder, provides users with the exact address.

STD increase reflected in US... Full Story

Herpes dating website spreads love, not disease
Date: 2013-07-23 00:00:00

Recently, Successful Match and Positive Singles launched Hmeet.com, a dating site for people living with the herpes simplex virus. The free service allows users to talk with and meet individuals who understand and share their condition. Hmeet.com provides herpes patients with the opportunity to date without having to bring up STD testing or their personal disease.

This is not the first dating website of its kind. According to USA Today, there are several online services to match up couples with the same, or similar, STDs. Positive Singles is one, which claims to have orchestrated 60,000 matches.

"A lot of my clients are looking for relationships and they are on dating websites like eHarmony and Match, but then the question is, 'When do I tell him or her that I have herpes? If I tell them right away, that person is going to go away. But if I let the relationship develop and wait to tell the person, is that betrayal?'" Carl Hindy, a clinical psychologist, told the news source.

Impact of STDs in America... Full Story

Chlamydia and gonorrhea rates rise in Montana
Date: 2013-07-29 00:00:00

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services reported that rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea have risen in the state, though syphilis rates have remained stable, according to a local news source.

The Great Falls Tribute noted that chlamydia is currently an endemic in Montana, but while gonorrhea is on the rise, it only accounts for some of the newly diagnosed sexually transmitted diseases in the state. Trisha Gardner, a community health education specialist, said that STD outbreaks usually show regional trends. However, she stated that regardless of location, chlamydia is the most commonly seen STD due to how easily it is transmitted.

STD tests show that for every 100,000 Montana residents, 387 have chlamydia, according to the news source. In 2002, there were 271 cases of the disease for every 100,000 persons. Conversely, gonorrhea was at an all-time high in 2006, infecting .02 percent of the population. In 2012, .011 percent of Montana residents were diagnosed with gonorrhea.

Gardner noted that there are income-based disparities in the rate at which citizens are diagnosed with STDs. Though the source noted that the differences weren't based in sexual activity, but rather were the result of limited access to healthcare services for those of lower socioeconomic status.

STD testing and treatment... Full Story

STD tests show statewide rise in chlamydia, gonorrhea
Date: 2013-07-30 00:00:00

Those who live in California may want to get an STD test in the near future, as a local news source recently reported a statewide spike in the rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea.

According to The Sacramento Bee, the number of new chlamydia and gonorrhea cases rose from 2011 to 2012 most in three counties - Placer, El Dorado and Yolo. El Dorado county experienced a 50 percent rise in gonorrhea cases and a 20 percent increase in chlamydia during that time frame. From 2011 to 2012, Placer county saw an 8 percent increase in chlamydia and a 55 percent uptick in gonorrhea, and Yolo county saw increases of 15 and 90 percent for chlamydia and gonorrhea, respectively.

The news source noted that Sacramento country has higher rates of the two STDs than most, but actually saw a drop in the number of chlamydia cases in 2012. Across the state, chlamydia rates increased by 3 percent, while cases of gonorrhea rose by 23.

Health officials did not point to a single cause, but suggest that this is a sign that more people are engaging in unprotected sex than before.

Risk factors for gonorrhea and chlamydia... Full Story