STD cases on the rise in Iowa

Linn County, IOWA, (CBS2/Fox28) — Sexually transmitted disease cases are increasing both across the nation and in Iowa. A preliminary report from the the Iowa Department of Public Health shows in 2018 there were 14,695 cases of chlamydia, 4,839 cases of gonorrhea, 283 cases of syphilis. The number of syphilis cases has decreased since 2017's number of 288. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for chlamydia and gonorrhea.

"We had over 1500 cases here in Linn County of chlamydia and over 450 cases of Gonorrhea," said Heather Meador the Linn County Public Health's clinic branch supervisor.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports there 1,708,569 cases of Chlamydia in 2017, along with 556,608 cases of gonorrhea, and 30,644 cases of syphilis in the United States. In 2017, the Iowa Department of Public Health shows there were 13,895 cases of chlamydia and 3,758 cases of gonorrhea in Iowa. 2018's numbers show a 5.8% increase in chlamydia numbers and a 28.3% increase in gonorrhea cases.

Meador and officials from the Iowa Department of Public Health say it's hard to know if that rise is due to increase cases or more testing being done. One thing Meadow says she's sure of, though, is the need to get people on antibiotics before it's harder to get someone cured like what they're seeing with gonorrhea.

"As we build up resistance to those antibiotics, then our treatment options are going to become fewer and fewer," said Meador.

Another big component to fight back against STDs is the use of condoms. Health experts say they do more than just help prevent pregnancies; they are also used to prevent someone from catching a disease.

"For many people they don't have any symptoms. So they don't know that they have an infection," said Meador. "That's why it's so important that you're getting tested."

If you're looking to find a testing location near you, Meador says a good search tool can be found here at the Center for Disease Control's website.l