California’s got everything — and we do mean everything. But be careful, it’s all highly contagious.
The most liberal state in the nation had more than 300,000 cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis diagnosed in 2017. That’s a 45% jump in just five years, and the numbers set a new record.
The 75,750 cases of gonorrhea reported in 2017 was the highest since 1988, the California Department of Public Health said in a yearly report released Monday. The 13,605 cases of “early syphilis” was also the highest since 1987. “Female case increased nearly 7-fold from less than 250 early syphilis cases reported in 2012,” the report said.
The numbers are deadly, too.
There were 278 congenital syphilis cases — including 30 stillbirths — in 2017, an increase of 30% from 2016. “30 stillbirths were nearly three times the number in 2016. Congenital syphilis burden of this magnitude last observed in 1995, over 20 years ago,” said the report. Congenital syphilis is an infection transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy or delivery.
The 218,710 chlamydia cases reported in 2017 was also the highest number since reporting began in 1990, the report found.
“The statistics show chlamydia and gonorrhea rates were highest among those under age 30. Young women made up the majority of chlamydia cases; men accounted for the majority of syphilis and gonorrhea cases,” the report said.
STDs can cause a number of serious health problems. If left untreated, chlamydia and gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and chronic pelvic pain. Syphilis can cause permanent loss of vision, hearing and other neurologic problems.
Chlamydia and gonorrhea rates are highest among people under age 30. Rates of chlamydia are highest among young women, and males account for the majority of syphilis and gonorrhea cases.
“STDs are preventable by consistently using condoms, and many STDs can be cured with antibiotics,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith. “Regular testing and treatment are very important for people who are sexually active, even for people who have no symptoms. Most people infected with an STD do not know it.”