Rates of STDs up in Yuma, nation

Reports of sexually transmitted diseases in the United States are going up and Yuma is no exception. According to Yuma County Health Department figures, the number of STDs reported in the area is on the rise. Cesar Reta, STD program coordinator for the health department, said the number of reported chlamydia and gonorrhea cases in 2006 were the highest the county had seen in five years.

Nationally, more cases of chlamydia were reported last year than ever before, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were more than 1 million cases, a record number of reports for any sexually transmitted disease.

Meanwhile, gonorrhea rates are jumping again. Strains of the bacteria resistant to common antibiotics are appearing, according to federal officials. The rate of congenital syphilis - which can deform or kill newborns - rose for the first time in 15 years.

In the county, Reta said there were 524 cases of chlamydia - the most common STD - reported in 2006, compared to 335 in 2001. There were 82 cases of gonorrhea, up from 26 in 2001.

Syphilis rates are holding relatively steady here, though individual cases are counted differently due to differing ways the parasite can be transmitted and diagnosed, Reta said. There were 14 cases of latent syphilis diagnosed in 2006, compared to 16 in 2001. There were three cases of congenital syphilis last year - which is passed on to babies by their mothers during pregnancy - compared to one case in 2001.

Reta said the numbers are high but the change is not that extreme, given Yuma's population growth.

"In our area, obviously the population has gone up. So the numbers, you would expect them to go up as well," he said.

He added that chlamydia is especially pervasive because many people who have it aren't aware and go undiagnosed. It is known as the "silent" disease because about three quarters of infected women and about half of infected men have no symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they usually appear within one-to-three weeks after exposure. More women are reported infected than men but Reta said that may be because more women realize something is wrong. Women who have symptoms might have an abnormal vaginal discharge or a burning sensation when urinating, according to the CDC.

Men might have a discharge from their penis or a burning sensation when urinating or burning and itching around the opening of the penis. Pain and swelling in the testicles are uncommon.

If left untreated it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy or infertility in women. For men, it can lead to sterility.

For those who contract gonorrhea, some men have a burning sensation when urinating, or a white, yellow, or green discharge from the penis. Sometimes men with gonorrhea get painful or swollen testicles.

In women the symptoms of gonorrhea are often mild but most women who are infected have no symptoms. Even when a woman has symptoms, they can be so nonspecific as to be mistaken for a bladder or vaginal infection.

Both of these common diseases are treatable with antibiotics, once people know they are infected.

"It's absolutely curable, you just have diagnose it," Reta said. "The qualification for that cure to be lasting is that the partners also take medicine."

He encouraged anyone who was sexually active to get tested.

"First and foremost, for any prevention of any sexually transmitted disease is abstinence ... Once you reach the point where you are sexually active, then you would probably want to use protective and barrier methods, such as condoms and limit partners," he said.

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Sarah Reynolds can be reached at sreynolds@yumasun.com or 539-6847.

TO GET TESTED

The Yuma County Health Department offers family planning and STD walk-in clinics 1-4 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday. Individual appointments can be made by calling 317-4540.

RATES OF CHLAMYDIA AND GONORRHEA IN YUMA COUNTY:

Chlamydia

• 2001: 335 cases

• 2002: 456

• 2003: 401

• 2004: 469

• 2005: 438

• 2006: 524

Gonorrhea

• 2001: 26

• 2002: 32

• 2003: 75

• 2004: 66

• 2005: 103

• 2006: 82