New York: Chlamydia Remains Top STD in Rockland

Chlamydia remained the most common STD in Rockland County in 2006, a county health department year-end communicable disease report found. In 2006, 413 chlamydia cases were diagnosed in the county, compared to 370 in the previous year. Chlamydia has remained the most prevalent STD in Rockland since doctors began reporting cases to state registries in 2001.

"The incidence is very, very high, but there's just not enough public education about it," said Maureen Creegan, head of the nursing school at Orangeburg's Dominican College. Creegan, a member of the Rockland Board of Health, said she plans on handing out information about chlamydia at the college's spring health fair.

Chlamydia is most prevalent among people younger than 25. "It's rampant in teens," said Lisa Lieberman, a New City public health researcher who specializes in adolescent health-risk behavior. Because many cases are asymptomatic, people with chlamydia may pass it to others without knowing they are infected. Left untreated, chlamydia can lead to infertility in women.

The report showed hepatitis C was second on the list of communicable diseases. Last year, 296 Rockland residents were diagnosed with the blood-borne infection. Hepatitis B was in fourth place with 151 cases, following Lyme disease with 273 cases recorded.

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