Montgomery and Mobile are two of the worst cities in the country for rates of sexually transmitted diseases, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
The CDC recently released STD data for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdown, as noted by the Innerbody Research Institute, which analyzed CDC numbers and found that nearly 40% of 100 cities with the highest STD rates are in the South.
Although Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is home to the highest STD rate, with 1,504 cases per 100,000 residents, five of the next six in the rankings are in the Deep South, including Montgomery, which ranks seventh with 1,323 cases. of sexually transmitted diseases. per 100,000 inhabitants.
Chlamydia cases account for the highest number in Alabama’s capital, with 3,252 in the past year, followed by gonorrhea with 1,571 cases; 80 cases of syphilis; and 64 cases of HIV.
Mobile ranks 14th on the list with 1,234 STD cases per 100,000 residents. As in Montgomery, chlamydia cases dominate STDs in Mobile, with 5,795 cases in the past year. Gonorrhea cases totaled 1,944; syphilis cases numbered 160; and there were 91 cases of HIV.
Memphis, Tennessee, was second on the list, followed by Jackson, Mississippi; New Orleans, Louisiana; St. Louis, Missouri; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Montgomery; San Francisco, California; Detroit, Michigan; and Washington, D.C., rounding out the top 10.
Although in the bottom half of the rankings, Huntsville ranks 51st, with 859 STD cases per 100,000 residents, including 2,699 cases of chlamydia; 1,451 cases of gonorrhea; 44 cases of syphilis; and 52 cases of HIV.
In total, 68% of cities in the MST top 25 are located in the South, which represents only 39% of the population – a trend the study calls “worrying”.
The report suggests that cities in the South could be hardest hit due to social and racial disparities, including lack of health insurance; poverty and housing issues; substance abuse; and lack of sufficient healthcare infrastructure – all factors that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority groups.
The increase in syphilis cases is perhaps most concerning, given that there were 220 cases of stillbirths or infant deaths in the United States attributable to the disease during the 12-month period examined by the CDC. The report also notes thousands of children who survive but face long-term health consequences from the disease.
“As cases of neonatal syphilis increase nationally and across all racial and ethnic groups, some communities, including those of Black, Hispanic and American Indian or Alaska Native people, are bearing the brunt of the epidemic. neonatal syphilis,” said Dr. Laura Bachmann, chief medical officer of the CDC’s STD Prevention Division.
Nationally, cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia have returned to pre-pandemic levels, with 1.6 million cases of chlamydia in the United States and 710,000 cases of gonorrhea.
Read the full report here.
News Source : www.al.com
Gn Health
