STDs Are Up in Vermont, Health Department Says

STDs Are Up in Vermont, Health Department Says

Last year, Vermont saw a nearly 50 percent jump in Chlamydia cases and an almost 30 percent spike in gonorrhea, according to the state health department. Some of the rise could be attributed to more accurate testing and diagnosis, said Marilyn Richards, STD coordinator.

There were 954 chlamydia cases in Vermont in 2002, affecting 161 out of every 100,000 people, a rate 49.5 percent higher than in 2001. The rate is significantly lower than the US average of about 278 cases per 100,000 people but up 131 percent from Vermont's 1998 rate.

Gonorrhea cases totaled 98 in 2002, a rate of 17 infections per 100,000 Vermonters, up 29 percent over 2001 but still lower than the US average of approximately 129 cases per 100,000 people. While the numbers are low, the state said last year represented the highest incidence rate in 10 years.

Infection rates varied among age groups. The Chlamydia infection rate for 20- to 24-year-olds equaled 1,084 for every 100,000 people.

Sixty percent of gonorrhea cases were in people ages 15-24.

Syphilis, considered eradicated in Vermont since 1998, appeared again. Two cases were reported in 2002, with each patient identifying the source of infection as out-of-state sexual partners. Syphilis "continues to enter Vermont sporadically through the mobility of our population," the department said.

"Abstinence is your best protection," said Richards, while nothing that using condoms and limiting sexual partners are also crucial to avoiding STDs.

Barrie Silver, marketing director for Planned Parenthood of northern New England, said the organization has an STD outreach program aimed at young men. "Teenagers lack a basic knowledge of birth control and sexually transmitted infections," she said. "The mission of Planned Parenthood is to make sure that young people get all of the information they need to protect themselves."

Rutland Herald (11.07.03)::Darren M. Allen
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Chlamydia - Urine PCR

3 million Americans are infected with Chlamydia each year.
by age 30, 50% of sexually active women have evidence that they have had Chlamydia at some time during their lives.
Chlamydia infection is treatable and curable
most people with Chlamydia are not aware of their infections and do not seek testing.
three quarters of infected women and half of infected men have no symptoms
Chlamydia is a leading cause of early infant pneumonia and conjunctivitis
Urine test accurately detects the presence of Chlamydia
The urine test is highly specific (98.2%).

What is a Chlamydia Infection?

Chlamydia infection is a curable sexually transmitted bacterial disease (STD), which is caused by a bacterium called Chlamydia Trachomatis. You can get genital chlamydia infection during oral, vaginal, or anal sexual contact with an infected partner. It can cause serious problems in men and women as well as in newborn babies of infected mothers. Because symptoms of chlamydia are mild or absent, serious complications that cause irreversible damage, including infertility, can occur "silently" before a woman ever recognizes a problem.

How do people get Chlamydia?

Chlamydia can be transmitted during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Chlamydia can also be passed from an infected mother to her newborn during vaginal childbirth.

How common is Chlamydia?

Chlamydia is the most frequently reported bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 5 percent of the young sexually active people are infected with Chlamydia.

Or one in twenty high school girls may have Chlamydia. Under-reporting is substantial because most people with chlamydia are not aware of their infections and do not seek testing. Chlamydia is so common in young women that, by age 30, 50% of sexually active women have evidence that they have had chlamydia at some time during their lives.

What are the symptoms of chlamydia?

The infection is frequently not diagnosed or treated until complications develop.

In women, the bacteria initially attack the cervix (opening to the uterus) and the urethra (urine canal). The few women with symptoms might have an abnormal vaginal discharge or a burning sensation when urinating. When the infection spreads from the cervix to the fallopian tubes, some women still have no signs or symptoms; others have lower abdominal pain, low back pain, nausea, fever, pain during intercourse, and bleeding between menstrual periods.

Whenever the infection spreads past the cervix into the upper reproductive system, permanent and irreversible damage can occur.

Men with signs or symptoms might have a discharge from the penis and a burning sensation when urinating. Men might also have burning and itching around the opening of the penis or pain and swelling in the testicles, or both.

How soon after exposure do symptoms appear?

If symptoms do occur, they usually appear within 1 to 3 weeks of exposure.

How is chlamydia diagnosed?

There are two kinds of laboratory tests to diagnose chlamydia. One involves collecting a specimen from an infected site (cervix or penis) to detect the bacterium directly. Another test accurately detect chlamydia bacteria in a urine sample. A Pap test is not a test for chlamydia; it is a test for abnormal cervical cells.

Who is at risk for chlamydia?

Sexually active men and women can be exposed to chlamydia bacteria during sexual contact with an infected person. The more sex partners a person has, the greater the risk of chlamydia infection. Babies are at risk of acquiring a chlamydia infection from their infected mother.

Sexually active teenagers and young women are especially susceptible to chlamydia bacteria because of the characteristics of the cells that form the lining of the cervical canal.

What complications can result from untreated chlamydia?

If untreated, chlamydia infection can progress to serious reproductive and other health problems with both short-term and long-term consequences. Like the disease itself, the damage that chlamydia causes is often "silent."

Untreated chlamydia in men typically causes urethral infection. Infection sometimes spreads to the epididymis (a tube that carries sperm from the testis), causing pain, fever, and, potentially, infertility.

In women, the chlamydia bacteria often infect the cells of the cervix. If not treated, the infection can spread into the uterus or fallopian tubes (egg canals) and cause an infection called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This happens in up to 40% of women with untreated chlamydia. PID can cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and tissues surrounding the ovaries. This damage can lead to chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the uterus).

In pregnant women, there is some evidence that chlamydia infections can lead to premature delivery. Babies who are born when their mothers are infected can get chlamydia infections in their eyes and respiratory tracts. Chlamydia is a leading cause of early infant pneumonia and conjunctivitis (pinkeye) in newborns.

Compared to women who do not have chlamydia, women infected with chlamydia may also have higher risk of acquiring HIV infection from an infected partner. Chlamydia can cause proctitis (an infection of the lining of the rectum) in persons having receptive anal intercourse. The bacterium also can be found in the throats of women and men having oral sex with an infected male partner.

If you are young, sexually active, and do not use condoms correctly every time you have sex, you should be screened for chlamydia at least once a year. It has been shown that screening and treatment of women with chlamydia infection of the cervix reduces the likelihood of PID. All pregnant women should have a screening test for chlamydia

If you are told you are infected, notify all your sex partners immediately.

If you are told you have chlamydia or any other STD and receive drug treatment, you should notify all of your recent sex partners so that they can see a health care provider and be treated. A sex partner needs treatment even if (s)he has no symptoms. This will reduce the risk that your partners will develop serious complications from chlamydia and reduce your risk of becoming re-infected. Do not have sex until both you and your sex partner complete your chlamydia drug treatment.

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