Chlamydia Climbing

Here’s a bit of bad news for the sexually active: Chlamydia infections in the U.S. reached an all-time high in 2010 with 1.3 million cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s the largest number ever reported for any condition, the agency says.

The rate of infection was higher among women than men — a fact the report said was unsurprising because women are more likely than men to be tested. The study recorded a higher increase in cases among men than women in recent years, however.

Eight times as many cases were found among blacks than whites, while three times as many Hispanics tested positive for infection. –ARK

MedPageToday:

The count — 1,307,893 cases — yielded a rate of 426 cases per 100,000 population, a 5.1% increase over 2009, the CDC said in its annual surveillance report on sexually transmitted diseases.

Much of the increase, the agency said, is probably owing to a continued increase in screening, more sensitive tests, and more complete national reporting.

But the CDC said it can’t rule out “a true increase in morbidity.”

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