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California reached a record high in the number of sexually
transmitted disease cases last year, with the state seeing an
overall 45 percent spike in the number of chlamydia, gonorrhea
and syphilis cases over the past five years.

According to the state report, officials are most concerned
about an uptick in the number of stillbirths due to congenital
syphilis.

The data, which was compiled by the California Department of
Public Health, revealed chlamydia and gonorrhea to be most
rampant among people under 30, with rates of chlamydia highest
among young women. Men accounted for the majority of syphilis
and gonorrhea cases.

"While there are advocates and champions for cancer, nobody is
out there saying, ‘I have gonorrhea and these are the best ways
to treat it,'"

- Dr. Jeffrey Klausner

If left untreated, chlamydia and gonorrhea can result in
infertility, ectopic pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain, while
syphilis can cause blindness, hearing loss and neurologic
issues. With more than 300,000 cases of all three diseases
reported in the state in 2017, researchers counted 30
stillbirths resulting from congenital syphilis.

“For California to have a steady increase in congenital syphilis
is shameful,” Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of medicine at
University of California, Los Angeles, told the Associated
Press. “We’ve known how to control syphilis since early 1900s.
Seeing it come back like this is a sign of failure of the public
health safety net.”

Officials were quick to point to a lack of public sex education
and health programs in the community.

“While there are advocates and champions for cancer, nobody is
out there saying, ‘I have gonorrhea and these are the best ways
to treat it,’” Klausner told the Associated Press. “There’s no
one out there being a champion for these conditions.”

The health department's chief of the division of communicable
disease control also placed blame on social media.

"It makes it easier for people to meet people they don't already
know to have sex," Dr. James Watt told the San Francisco
Chronicle. "The internet allows for broadening of sexual
networks, and the broader that gets the more opportunity you
have for sexually transmitted diseases to spread."

The health department is now planning a greater public effort to
spread awareness about the dangers of STDs and how to protect
against them, but the head of the state’s STD Control Branch
said budget issues have played a role in the uptick of cases.

Dr. Heidi Bauer estimated that about $20 million in state and
federal money is allocated annually to fighting STDs. With a
state population of nearly 40 million, Bauer said it isn’t
enough, especially in areas struggling with poverty, substance
abuse, mental health issues and homelessness.

The state's homeless population of more than 130,000 people
accounts for about 25 percent of the nationwide total, with
clean up efforts associated with the communities topping $10
million in 2016-17. Maintenance crews have been tasked with
cleaning up feces, urine, needles and other dangerous materials
as the cities grapple with how to handle the surge of
homelessness.

In April, the health department reported a slowdown in the
number of reported hepatitis A cases that was plaguing the
homeless community since a 2016 outbreak began in San Diego
County. It had spread to Santa Cruz, Los Angeles and Monterey
counties, killing 21 people.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/05/15/stds-reach-all-time- high-in-california.html
 

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