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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 noting 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."

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