Alabama ranks fifth in nation in STD rates

Alabama is ranked fifth in the nation among states with the most sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), said Albert Woolbright, director of the Division of Statistical Analysis at the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Only Mississippi, Alaska, South Carolina and Louisiana rank above Alabama.

On Tuesday, a study released by Center for Disease Control (CDC) stated that one in four teenage girls in the U.S. is infected with an STD.

“It’s a very shocking item,” said Sandra Langston, director of the STD Division at the Alabama Department of Public Health. “But not surprising to those in the field.”

The study is an analysis of nationally representative data on 838 girls, ages 14-19, who participated in a 2003-04 government health survey.

“We do know the highest prevalence rate is for 15-19 year-olds,” Langston said, referring to young women in Alabama. The most common disease reported nationally was the human papillomavirus (HPV).

HPV affected 18 percent of girls, the study said. The second most common disease, chlamydia, affected four percent.

The Alabama Department of Public Health recorded three types of STDs for Lee County last year: syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia.

According to the STD Division of Public Health’s Web site, Public Health Area 8, which includes Autauga, Bullock, Chilton, Elmore, Lee, Macon, Montgomery and Russell counties, reported 1,295 cases of chlamydia in 2005.

The next year, 2006, 1,848 cases were reported in Area 8. In Alabama, more than 25,000 people tested positive for chlamydia last year, Langston said.

Chlamydia was the most common disease in Lee County with 514 reported cases, said Woolbright.

There were 157 reported cases of gonorrhea and five confirmed cases of syphilis in the county, according to Woolbright.

There were no statistics on HPV or the other diseases listed in the study.

As for gonorrhea, 722 cases were reported in 2005 and 794 were reported in 2006 for Public Health Area 8. Woolbright said they only reported for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in Alabama.

Alabama ranked second in the nation for number of syphilis cases reported, fourth for gonorrhea and fifth for chlamydia, Langston said.

The best advice Langston said she could give to avoid becoming a statistic would be to practice safe sex.

For more information on STDs, visit http://www.adph.org/STD/.

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