Among these major STDs tracked by the CDC, chlamydia is by far the most common. Over 500 people out of 100,000 report a case of chlamydia each year. This is more than twice as much as the reported cases of gonorrhea, HIV, syphilis combined. With the exception of HIV, these diseases can be cured, but catching them early is critical for minimizing their damage. So which places in America have the highest and lowest rates of STDs? The chart below shows the newly reported cases per capita by state for all four of these diseases combined:
STD rates vary considerably depending on where you are in America. Alaska, Mississippi and Louisiana have the highest STD rates in the nation with over 1,000 people out of 100,000 reporting a new case each year. Put differently, thats over 1% of the population.
On the other hand, STD rates in West Virginia, and New Hampshire are the lowest in the nation. In these locations, the STD rates are nearly three times lower than in the states with the highest rates.
What drives places like Alaska to have the highest STD rate in the nation and West Virginia to have the lowest one? Given that chlamydia is much more common than other diseases, its prevalence by state drives the overall averages. Below shows the chlamydia rate by state:
Georgia has the highest new infection rate of HIV in the country, with 30 people per capita reporting the disease. Louisiana (a state that also ranks in the top three for chlamydia and gonorrhea) ranks second when it comes to HIV infections. The states where HIV infections are much less common are all states with mostly rural environments.
Lastly, lets examine the syphilis rate. Compared to the other three diseases weve looked at so far, syphilis is the least common. However, it can have very serious effects if not detected and treated early.
By a considerable margin, Nevada has the highest syphilis rate in the United States. This is largely driven by Clark County (the home of Las Vegas) having the highest syphilis rate of all counties in the United States. Of the four disease we examined in this article, Louisiana was the only state that ranked in the top three of new infections for all of them.
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In the United States, there is an enormous variance in the prevalence of STDs by location. For some diseases an STD can be 100 times more likely in one state than another. Overall, places like Alaska, Mississippi and Louisiana have the highest STD rates, while West Virginia, Vermont and New Hampshire have the lowest. Given that sexually transmitted diseases are by definition locally transmitted, perhaps it shouldnt be too surprising that their prevalence is closely associated with geography.
Alaska has the highest chlamydia rate in the nation with 800 new cases per capita each year. The problem is so severe in the state that the state health department recently issued a bulletin warning residents about the rising risk. West Virginia has the lowest chlamydia rate in the nation, contributing to its ranking as the state with the lowest overall STD rate in the country.
Next, lets turn our attention to the second most common STD, gonorrhea:
By a considerable margin, Nevada has the highest syphilis rate in the United States. This is largely driven by Clark County (the home of Las Vegas) having the highest syphilis rate of all counties in the United States. Of the four disease we examined in this article, Louisiana was the only state that ranked in the top three of new infections for all of them. *** In the United States, there is an enormous variance in the prevalence of STDs by location. For some diseases an STD can be 100 times more likely in one state than another. Overall, places like Alaska, Mississippi and Louisiana have the highest STD rates, while West Virginia, Vermont and New Hampshire have the lowest. Given that sexually transmitted diseases are by definition locally transmitted, perhaps it shouldnt be too surprising that their prevalence is closely associated with geography.
Poster Comment:
Alaska has lots of gays. Lots of STDs can be explained by race- blacks and Mexicans. We need racial profiles on diseases. A black girl tried to tell me that chlamydia was hereditary because "My mama, my auntie and me all have it."