California is registering a massive rise in the cases of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Chlamydia and gonorrhea have become some of the most prevalent STDs in the past year. Officials say that this is an alarming situation for the people of California. If proper preventive measures are not taken, it could lead to a serious condition, something hard to deal with.
This is a third consecutive year in a row when a record high number of STD cases have been registered. Some people blame it on the excessive use of dating apps which leads to one night stands or hook-ups and not using condoms during the sexual encounter. Dating apps have also lead people to get multiple sexual partners which are one of the primary reasons for getting infected with STD.
Other people consider the lack of public health clinics as the primary reason why people are not very well aware of the STDs and their aftereffects. This lack of knowledge leads them to get infected with dreadful STDs which could be fatal to the health.
However, the good news is STDs are curable. With proper care and medication, these diseases can be subsided completely. Other than this, a little know-how about how they spread and what measures could prevent them from contaminating also helps. Dr. Karen Smith, Director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement, “STDs are preventable by consistently using condoms, and many STDs can be cured with antibiotics.”
People who are sexually active needs to perform a regular medical checkup to rule out the possibility of STDs. Most of the times, people who are infected with STD do not even know about it, and they notice only when the situation becomes critical.
As per the data given by the officials, more than 300,000 people in the state were diagnosed with syphilis, gonorrhea or chlamydia last year, a 45% increase compared to five years ago. Here, the primary concern is the increasing number of women suffering from syphilis. When a woman with syphilis bears a baby, she passes the disease to it as well. It leads to congenital syphilis which ultimately leads to cause stillbirths or babies born with permanent disabilities.
According to the data provided by the state officials, the number of babies born with congenital syphilis has increased to four times more than what it was in 2013. According to them, there are more babies born with congenital syphilis in California in 2017 than there have been since 1995.
Los Angeles County alone registered the birth of 47 babies with congenital syphilis which is more than any past year’s data. The county has also registered to encounter ninth-highest rate of primary and secondary syphilis, the eighth-highest rate of chlamydia and third highest rate of gonorrhea.
This is a highly alarming situation for the Californians, and until effective preventive measures are not taken, the condition could get worse. A proper awareness, use of condoms and regular STD testing could help to curb the problem to some extent.