TUESDAY, Jan. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Noteworthy elements in the U.S. surveillance of sexually transmitted diseases for 2007 include a high rate of chlamydia, especially in women; increasing syphilis, especially in men who have sex with men; and ongoing racial disparities, according to an annual report issued Jan. 13 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the report, more than 1.1 million cases of chlamydia infection were reported to the CDC in 2007, accounting for the largest number of cases ever reported to the agency for any condition, and an increase from 1 million cases in 2006. The rate in women was nearly three times the rate in men (543.6 cases versus 190.0 cases per 100,000, respectively).
Gonorrhea held steady in 2007, with about 350,000 cases reported, which is much higher than the Healthy People 2010 target (118.9 cases versus 19 cases per 100,000 population, respectively). The rate of primary and secondary syphilis has been rising since 2001; in 2007, nearly 11,500 cases were reported -- which was a 15 percent increase in rate over the previous year -- and men who have sex with men account for 65 percent of cases, the report indicates.
According to a CDC release, "CDC's 2007 STD surveillance report also indicates ongoing racial disparities in the three most common reportable STDs, with African Americans bearing the greatest burden. While representing 12 percent of the U.S. population, blacks had about 70 percent of reported gonorrhea cases and almost half of all chlamydia and syphilis cases (48 percent and 46 percent, respectively) in 2007."
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