California: STDs Remain on Top 10 List of Diseases

Among the top ten reported diseases in San Joaquin County in 2003 were six related to sexual activity and/or drug abuse, the county Public Health Services Department (PHS) year-end report found. Sex- and/or drug use-related diseases include: chlamydia (the most-reported disease in the county), chronic hepatitis C, gonorrhea, chronic hepatitis B, HIV, and AIDS. Stockton had the highest number of top 10 reported diseases in all categories.

Chlamydia cases increased from 2,361 in 2002 to 2,417 cases in 2003. About 71 percent occurred among females ages 15-24, reflecting statewide statistics, said Dennis Ferrero, PHS' director of disease control and prevention. It means that nearly one in 50 females in that age bracket have the disease. There were almost 200 cases in Tracy, about 190 in Manteca and about 120 in Lodi.

There were 911 cases of hepatitis C and 190 cases of hepatitis B. In Tracy, there were about 350 reported cases of hepatitis C and about 35 hepatitis B cases. In Manteca and Lodi, there were about 50 cases each of hepatitis C and fewer than 10 cases of hepatitis B. About 35 percent of hepatitis C cases were from incarcerated persons.

There were 636 county gonorrhea cases last year, of which nearly 60 were reported in Tracy and about 25 each in Manteca and Lodi.

HIV infection moved up one position to be the sixth most-reported disease. Some cases were already known but are only now being reported to health services -- a lag from when statewide reporting was first required three years ago. The majority of cases are white men, ages 20-39, who have sex with men, and injection drug users, according to PHS. However, African-American men comprised 30.8 percent of HIV cases.

There were 74 reported AIDS cases countywide, making it the seventh most-reported disease, an increase by one in its rank order. Most AIDS cases (25) occurred among IDUs. AIDS cases decreased among white males and increased among Hispanics. There was one reported case from blood exposure.

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