A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates certain sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in some groups.
“STDs continue to threaten the health and well-being of millions of Americans,” said Hillard Weinstock, one of the authors of “2011 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Surveillance” report in USA Today.
Of particular concern was chlamydia, which rose 8 percent in 2011, compared to the previous year; gonorrhea, which rose 4 percent; and syphilis, which held steady at 13,970 cases, despite a 1.6 percent decrease in 2010.
Young people, as well as gay and bi-sexual men are affected by these diseases more than others, according to Weinstock, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention.
If left untreated, STDs like gonorrhea and chlamydia can lead to infertility; and syphilis can lead to paralysis and even death.
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